#5 - Education

A solid education is one of the most fundamental services a society can support. This is one of our fundamental American values that we must take meaningful action on.  Our own Texas Constitution is VERY clear on public education. A properly funded and supported public education system levels the playing field for everyone and benefits all of us in the long run.  Developing good learning skills starts at an early age. Building these essential learning skills benefits our children for the rest of their lives. A funded and focused effort on Head Start and Early Head Start lays the foundation for them to pursue interests in science, math, art, and music. This contributes not only to increased literacy rates, but also to creative entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders who will help promote economic prosperity in our future.  Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are what makes us better as a society.  Children learn from examples, so let's be a good example by getting them off to a bright start for the future!

​Likewise, higher education and vocational schools are also important in our communities. The learning process does not stop at high school, but continues beyond.  We can start having tuition free community college today.  The immediate positive impact to our work workforce would be enormous.  We can build on that by making college and technical trade schools tuition free, as well. This not only increases our competitiveness globally, but also ensures that the United States is the leader in education.  We have some great community colleges, vocational programs, and universities already in District 31 that can help take the lead on this issue.

The business of forcing college students to go into debt must stop.  Many graduates end up having debt that they may never be able to pay back in their lifetime. There is currently over 1.3 trillion in student loan debt alone.  This is very harmful to our future.  I was fortunate to go to college when our state and federal government knew the value of education and helped to make it affordable for all.  I have certainly paid that cost back to society many times over and have helped others to succeed.  Being a product of a publicly funded education system, I will have no problem showing our community how beneficial these services are and how productive our citizens can become because of it.
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Congressman John Carter champions bills that cut early childhood programs, gut our higher education system, and promotes measures to burden colleges students with even more debt.  We can send a clear message on Nov 6, 2018 that this does not reflect the values of the people of Williamson and Bell County!