Issue Position: Education and Job Training

Issue Position

A great community starts with great public schools. Like many, my wife and I grew up going to public schools, and we live in this community because it's a great place to start a family because it has schools with great teachers.

Improving our schools in Loudoun and Prince William Counties starts with fully funding them, providing them top-notch resources, and making sure we recruit and retain great teachers by paying them what they are worth. There are too many underpaid and overworked teachers, and there are too many instances where parents have to foot the bill for activities that the schools should cover. We also need to lower class sizes, stop constantly re-zoning kids into new schools, and invest in early-childhood education and programs for children with disabilities and special needs. We must also continue to address racism, cultural insensitivity, and inequity throughout our school systems.

Furthermore, we cannot continue to let our future leaders enter the workforce saddled with debt because of their post-secondary education. The cost of college has forced too many people to take on astronomical student loans that take decades to repay. In Richmond, I will fight for a tuition cap at state schools and maintain funding for post-secondary education. I also plan to increase access to workforce training programs to help people in our community who are looking to switch into professions in high demand by local employers.

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