Education

I believe Alabama can and must provide the very best education from pre-K through college and beyond. We are still not fully funding pre-K: if other states can do it, so can we.

 

• I don’t believe it’s right to give up on public schools and spend our tax dollars building up the private education sector.

• I oppose any expansion of the Choose Act. It’s not the role of government to build private schools: it’s the role of government to provide the very best in public education, free to all students.

 

• The two-percent pay raise being offered teachers this year is unacceptable. This is substantially below inflation and Alabama already ranks 33rd in the nation in teacher pay. 

 

• It is no coincidence then that Alabama ranks 32nd in math and 34th in reading at 4th grade. Business experience shows what the problem is: low pay never attracts top talent.

 

• The legislature has blown through billions of dollars given to them through the American Rescue Plan, with no thought to the future. Now those funds are gone and they are talking of a "looming fiscal cliff". Whose fault is that? 

 

• Education Tax Fund receipts are down, and the Choose Act is siphoning off $180 million from public schools this year. Even worse, after 2027 the income cap for Choose is being removed and schools may lose as much as $500 million.

 

Finally, we must ensure we have the necessary programs in place, or ready to roll out, to train our workforce for the jobs we want to attract. This is key for business recruitment, and is going to be increasingly important in a world where AI is being actively deployed to reduce employment opportunities.