Maryland's public schools have slipped from #1 to #5

Under this Governor, Maryland has slipped from the #1 to 5th ranked public school system in the United States.

We need to strive to return to number one and continuously improve. The United States has fallen behind the educational achievements of many other countries in important areas of learning, particularly math and science. As a cosponsor of the Kirwin Commission bill, I believe it lays out a path to improve our public education system and rebuild it as a world-class education system.

We need to keep education as a number one priority along with job creation. We must retain and attract the highest quality teachers available. It is important that we enable teachers to teach and not burden them with political agendas and overly onerous administrative tasks.

The challenge is electing a Governor that shares this goal, supports fully funding our schools, and implementing the Kirwin Commission recommendations.

As a former teacher I have always fought for education:

* Co-sponsoring the Kirwin Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education

* Sponsoring Free Community College bill, which was wrapped into HB16 to pass.

* Sponsoring Frederick's Linking Youth to New Experiences (LYNX) High School.

* Co-sponsoring the Healthy School Facility Fund ensuring every school is safe for its students

* Voting to amend the Maryland Constitution to ensure all casino revenue dedicated to education goes to education and cannot be diverted to other spending (Fix the Fund).

* Cosponsoring the “Less Testing, More Learning Act of 2017,” to limit standardized testing and guarantee there is more time spent on learning in our classrooms.

As a former teacher I know first hand the impact an education can have on a person's life and their future. In fact, I am where I am today because of public education.

I hope I can count on your vote on November 6th.