Accountability
Our government should always be accountable to the people. As citizens we need access to and information about the policies and decisions the government makes. Further, all monetary information needs to be easily accessible and downloadable from the web. This information should include budget expenditures by fund, by department, by cost center, by account, by year, by month. This standard should apply to all levels of governments--be it state or local.
Taxes
I recognize that taxes take money from one group of citizens and then give it to another. If I don’t have the right to demand of my neighbor to pay for a benefit or service on my behalf then why should the government have such authority? It is your money and I will respect that fact. I am frugal in my own personal life and I will also be frugal with your money. It is not the government’s money—it’s yours.
Education
Having served in the legislature for two years now I have come to the view that there are to many line item education programs. These programs make winners and losers out of school districts. I would like to see the legislature eliminate most of these programs and place the funds in a super-WPU. The funds will be distributed to schools based on headcount and then the schools working with the parents can decide best how to teach our children. In taking this approach I want to see the School Community Councils truly empowered to be a part of the decision making authority at an individual school. If we believe in local control then it is time to give control to the parents at a school (March '08).
“Our leaders must remember that education doesn't begin with some isolated bureaucrat in Washington. It doesn't even begin with state or local officials. Education begins in the home, where it is a parental right and responsibility.”
President Ronald Reagan’s Remarks to the National Catholic Educational Association, Chicago, April 15, 1982
Merit Pay
I want to reward teachers who go the extra mile for our children. Just as businesses reward employees for exceptional performance, we should be rewarding teachers who go beyond the call of duty to educate students in their classrooms. Merit pay needs to be based on parental input, peer-to-peer and principal evaluations and not just student achievement—as determined by standardized tests at the beginning and end of the year. A student’s improvement from a D to a C is just as significant as improvement from a B to an A. Merit pay is a true conservative principle in action, rewarding those teachers who go the extra mile to educate our children.
Charter Schools
I support the continued expansion of charter schools throughout our state. As I have visited charter schools in our area I am amazed at what is being accomplished. There are two teachers in each class—one being a certified teacher under the same standards as district schools, and a teacher’s aide.
How do charters manage it? Charters spend less on their buildings; get leftover (often from Districts) furniture and desks; expect parents to volunteer their time and forgo using kitchen services thus requiring children to bring their own lunches(March '08).
Immigration
We are a sovereign nation, and like all other nations on the earth, our borders need to be respected. Further, we are a law abiding society. Which laws can we afford to ignore?
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