Education

By Charles R. "Chuck" Coleman, Jr.

Schools have been troubled for decades now. Politicians always like to talk about education, but all too often neglect it once they are in office. We need a leader who will prioritize helping our young people while in office.

There is no excuse for underfunding vital programs, such as Head Start, Title 1, teacher training, and after school programs. We must do these things. If something in the budget needs to be cut, we should cut wasteful defense spending projects.

We should also repeal the Bush tax cut for the wealthy, and use the tax revenue to fully fund school programs.

I am not suggesting that spending is a cure-all. It is a start. And wherever wasteful spending is identified, it should be eliminated. I have been in education for over 15 years, and I passed the CPA exam after going through USC's accounting program. I have seen a lot of waste over the years. For example, when blocks of use it or lose it money is given to schools -- they will usually use it. And when that happens, all too often purchases are made for various things that end up forever in storage.

We need responsible spending and a system in place that will encourage accountability.

Our children need to be served better. Putting them in a class with 40-50 just sets many up for failure. We have to continually do our best to instead set them up for success.