I believe our children are imporant and that is why I am a member of The Kids First caucus. I wrote this asking for an endorsement, "Let me tell you a little bit about why I think I deserve the caucus's endorsement. I, prior to becoming a member of the House, was elected to my local school board. I know the problems facing Ohio's children today. The Ohio State Supreme Court has ruled three times that the way the state funds education violates our Constitution, yet those in power have refused to fix it. This is partially because of the lack of leadership from current Governor Bob Taft. It is also partially because this is a difficult situation to fix. I believe we need to fund our schools better and assure that all of our children can get an education and go to school without fear.
We, in Ohio, have a state lottery that was approved in order to have all the proceeds go to the education system. We do put all the money there, but currently Ohio law allows for us to decrease the education budget by whatever is put in there by the lottery. That is a loophole that I'd attempt to close.
Also, the Ohio House and Senate are currently debating a bill that is titled "Student Bill of Rights". Don't let the name fool you however. The purpose of this law is to say what teachers in public schools can and cannot teach in regards to controversial issues. I oppose this bill and if elected prior to its passing, I promise to veto it. It is not in the best interest of our students to be limited in their education, but they should examine issues from every angle.
Finally, I would work to increase funding on HEAD Start programs and other programs that help our children coming from poorer families. I would offer tax breaks to those educators who are willing to teach in inner-city and poorer public schools. We need to give an incentive to our best teachers to help our students."