ROBIN ON EDUCATION

I believe that Virginia must have a world class education system, so that our children can compete for the jobs of the future. More than two decades ago, my son, Nicholas, was diagnosed with severe disabilities, and the Commonwealth of Virginia did not provide educational opportunities for disabled children under that age of five.

As a young mother, I fought to make sure that every child, no matter their disability, had equal access to the best education that we could provide. That fight made me understand that our children must have the very best educational opportunities available.

The 93^rd district needs a delegate who will stand up for public education and for the schools of Newport News and James City County. In Richmond, I will make it a top priority to ensure that we:

·         Fully fund Pre-K and early education programs

·         Recruit highly qualified teachers

·         Retain good teachers by increasing their pay

·         Ensure that we lead the nation in 3^rd grade reading scores

·         Secure resources for high-school, vocational, and workforce development training programs

·         Provide every Virginia student with affordable access to higher education

·         Invest in our community colleges and public universities

As I seek election to the House of Delegates, no issue is more important to me personally than the education of our children.  The most important role of a state legislator in this regard is ensuring that the Commonwealth fulfills its constitutional role of funding the Standards of Quality, Virginia’s school funding formula. My top education priority will be securing the fair share of funding that Newport News and James City County schools deserve.

Education is the key to success in today’s world. As delegate, I will fight to make sure every child receives the quality public education they deserve.

Right now Virginia is ranked 37^th in the nation for state support per pupil in public schools.  The problem that Virginia’s students are facing is that we rely too heavily on local support for public education, creating an inordinate burden on localities. That means students in lower income neighborhoods and regions of Virginia are not receiving the same quality of education as students in wealthier neighborhoods and regions. In addition, Virginia’s teachers are earning nearly $6,100 less than the national average, making it more and more difficult to recruit and retain new, qualified and committed teachers to educate our children.

Robin was outraged to learn that just this year, the current House leadership proposed budget changes that would have vastly reduced K-12 funding—their changes to the Standards of Quality formula would have cut $78M from this year’s budget and upwards of $250M in the next, according to the nonpartisan Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee.

We as a commonwealth and a community need a more concrete commitment in supporting the public education of our children and Robin will fight in Richmond to make sure every student, regardless of where they live, has equal access to a quality education.