1) What are your views on how Georgia should recruit and retain educators, given the ongoing nationwide shortage of professional educators? | Educators are some of our most valuable employees, and they should be compensated accordingly. The State of Georgia should pay its educators more so that more people can afford to become educators. I personally know teachers who left, or are considering leaving, their jobs to go into other fields such as software engineering, simply because they cannot afford to be teachers. The first solution to a talent shortage is to commit more resources and show that the state values this talent. More resources mean that teachers are paid more, there are more mental health resources for students, and class sizes are smaller, all of which will improve retention.The government can also incentivize more people to become educators by programs such as scholarships or forgiving student loan debt for people who become educators.
2) How will you empower educators to be collaborative participants in solving problems facing public education? | I am committed to meeting with both school boards, teachers, school administrators, and PTAs to ensure that teachers have a say in both administrative and legislative decisions and are connected to the right people who can make decisions happen. I will work to ensure that educators have a voice built into the system — such as a regular spot or consultations — and fight for legislation that protects educators from retaliation because of speaking their personal or political views. I also believe that teachers and educators should have collective bargaining rights and exercise these rights through unions.
3) How will you help protect students and educators in a public school setting? | I will work to protect students from two crises that have engulfed our schools: the opioid epidemic and the mental health crisis. I will make sure that every student has access to resources to deal with the opioid epidemic and help friends who may be in danger, and that age-appropriate education is provided for all students on how to deal with dangerous drugs. I will push for more funding so that schools can hire more mental health counselors, who can help students succeed, and I will encourage schools to take measures that could decrease the stress and pressure on students, such as revising or removing class rank.Every student should have access to quality and comprehensive sex ed, in order to equip them with the knowledge that allows them to stay safe. I will work to ensure that LGBTQ+ students are able to express their sexual orientation and/or gender identity without fear of repercussions, and I will prioritize making sure students with disabilities have the accommodations that they need.Additionally, students and educators should feel safe in public schools without needing to constantly worry about mass shootings. Educators like my former teachers want to focus on educating their students, as opposed to doubling as security guards. I oppose proposals to arm teachers, and instead would rather focus on passing gun safety legislation instead. I will advocate for common sense gun safety measures such as additional background checks and heightened restrictions on who can carry guns in schools. Schools that need it should have the resources to hire student resource officers who can protect students, but at the same time we need efforts to build community between students and SROs so they know they are there to help not harm.
4) What is your current understanding of how public school funds are allocated? | Public school funds from the state level are allocated through the QBE formula, which makes school funding proportional to property values in an area. School districts also get local funds, which are also often tied to the value of property taxes; and finally, some federal grants fund specific programs for schools. The fact that public school funding is tied to property taxes creates large disparities in the quality of public education across the state. There are also charter schools in the state that take public money, but are privately run.
5) Do you think public education funds should be used to pay private school tuition? Explain. | No. We haven’t even fully funded our public education system, and diverting funds away from this system will further cause the quality of public education to deteriorate, harming the vast majority of students in the long-term. The establishment of public education is a tremendous achievement in American history – in terms of providing students with greater opportunity and social mobility – and diverting funds towards private schools is the first step towards dismantling all that progress.The voucher problem is a temporary band-aid on a larger problem that ultimately serves no one’s interest. In fact, many private schools also oppose such voucher proposals because providing state funding may take away from their independence. If everyone is well-educated, regardless of what school they go to, Georgia is more prosperous, and we all succeed.
6) Imagine you're on a study committee focusing on public schools. What are three areas you would want to focus on? | Teacher retention: How can we ensure we can hire and retain our teachers? What kinds of funding gaps are there that we can address?Academic excellence: How do we make sure that students from schools across GA have a fair shot at getting into the college they want or the job they need? How can we support students who are excelling to have more opportunities, while also helping students who need more support?Mental health: How can we ensure students can deal with the stress and competition, particularly at high-performing schools? Additionally, how can we best support students who are from financially unstable family situations to ensure they can succeed in school?
7) Overall (not limited to education issues), what will be your top three policy/legislative priorities? | Building an economy of the future: attracting investments in technologies and industries such as healthcare, AI, and cybersecurity; ensuring our education system trains people for the jobs of the future; making it easier for small businesses and startups to innovate and commercialize their products.Providing a world-class education for all: fully funding our public education system, correcting disparities across the state, paying teachers more, and providing resources to deal with student mental health and the opioid crisis.Creating safer communities: Providing access to healthcare and expanding Medicaid; passing common sense gun safety legislation; and protecting reproductive rights.
8) Are there any other thoughts or comments you would like to share? | I grew up in the public school system, and a major reason why I’m running for office is to give back to my community. The schools I went to and the teachers who taught me are a major reason why I’m here today, and I want to make sure that every student across Georgia has the same opportunities, or better, than I had. Today I don’t see the level of legislative focus on the education system that I believe we should have in order to invest in our future.
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Some questions:
1) What are your views on how Georgia should recruit and retain educators, given the ongoing nationwide shortage of professional educators? | Educators are some of our most valuable employees, and they should be compensated accordingly. The State of Georgia should pay its educators more so that more people can afford to become educators. I personally know teachers who left, or are considering leaving, their jobs to go into other fields such as software engineering, simply because they cannot afford to be teachers. The first solution to a talent shortage is to commit more resources and show that the state values this talent. More resources mean that teachers are paid more, there are more mental health resources for students, and class sizes are smaller, all of which will improve retention.The government can also incentivize more people to become educators by programs such as scholarships or forgiving student loan debt for people who become educators. 2) How will you empower educators to be collaborative participants in solving problems facing public education? | I am committed to meeting with both school boards, teachers, school administrators, and PTAs to ensure that teachers have a say in both administrative and legislative decisions and are connected to the right people who can make decisions happen. I will work to ensure that educators have a voice built into the system — such as a regular spot or consultations — and fight for legislation that protects educators from retaliation because of speaking their personal or political views. I also believe that teachers and educators should have collective bargaining rights and exercise these rights through unions. 3) How will you help protect students and educators in a public school setting? | I will work to protect students from two crises that have engulfed our schools: the opioid epidemic and the mental health crisis. I will make sure that every student has access to resources to deal with the opioid epidemic and help friends who may be in danger, and that age-appropriate education is provided for all students on how to deal with dangerous drugs. I will push for more funding so that schools can hire more mental health counselors, who can help students succeed, and I will encourage schools to take measures that could decrease the stress and pressure on students, such as revising or removing class rank.Every student should have access to quality and comprehensive sex ed, in order to equip them with the knowledge that allows them to stay safe. I will work to ensure that LGBTQ+ students are able to express their sexual orientation and/or gender identity without fear of repercussions, and I will prioritize making sure students with disabilities have the accommodations that they need.Additionally, students and educators should feel safe in public schools without needing to constantly worry about mass shootings. Educators like my former teachers want to focus on educating their students, as opposed to doubling as security guards. I oppose proposals to arm teachers, and instead would rather focus on passing gun safety legislation instead. I will advocate for common sense gun safety measures such as additional background checks and heightened restrictions on who can carry guns in schools. Schools that need it should have the resources to hire student resource officers who can protect students, but at the same time we need efforts to build community between students and SROs so they know they are there to help not harm. 4) What is your current understanding of how public school funds are allocated? | Public school funds from the state level are allocated through the QBE formula, which makes school funding proportional to property values in an area. School districts also get local funds, which are also often tied to the value of property taxes; and finally, some federal grants fund specific programs for schools. The fact that public school funding is tied to property taxes creates large disparities in the quality of public education across the state. There are also charter schools in the state that take public money, but are privately run. 5) Do you think public education funds should be used to pay private school tuition? Explain. | No. We haven’t even fully funded our public education system, and diverting funds away from this system will further cause the quality of public education to deteriorate, harming the vast majority of students in the long-term. The establishment of public education is a tremendous achievement in American history – in terms of providing students with greater opportunity and social mobility – and diverting funds towards private schools is the first step towards dismantling all that progress.The voucher problem is a temporary band-aid on a larger problem that ultimately serves no one’s interest. In fact, many private schools also oppose such voucher proposals because providing state funding may take away from their independence. If everyone is well-educated, regardless of what school they go to, Georgia is more prosperous, and we all succeed. 6) Imagine you're on a study committee focusing on public schools. What are three areas you would want to focus on? | Teacher retention: How can we ensure we can hire and retain our teachers? What kinds of funding gaps are there that we can address?Academic excellence: How do we make sure that students from schools across GA have a fair shot at getting into the college they want or the job they need? How can we support students who are excelling to have more opportunities, while also helping students who need more support?Mental health: How can we ensure students can deal with the stress and competition, particularly at high-performing schools? Additionally, how can we best support students who are from financially unstable family situations to ensure they can succeed in school? 7) Overall (not limited to education issues), what will be your top three policy/legislative priorities? | Building an economy of the future: attracting investments in technologies and industries such as healthcare, AI, and cybersecurity; ensuring our education system trains people for the jobs of the future; making it easier for small businesses and startups to innovate and commercialize their products.Providing a world-class education for all: fully funding our public education system, correcting disparities across the state, paying teachers more, and providing resources to deal with student mental health and the opioid crisis.Creating safer communities: Providing access to healthcare and expanding Medicaid; passing common sense gun safety legislation; and protecting reproductive rights. 8) Are there any other thoughts or comments you would like to share? | I grew up in the public school system, and a major reason why I’m running for office is to give back to my community. The schools I went to and the teachers who taught me are a major reason why I’m here today, and I want to make sure that every student across Georgia has the same opportunities, or better, than I had. Today I don’t see the level of legislative focus on the education system that I believe we should have in order to invest in our future. |