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Education

Our world-class schools are the crown jewel of Fairfax County. They attract families to our area, provide for a positive business climate, and prepare our young people to be productive citizens in our town and in our nation. The goal of every elected official must be to keep our schools at the highest standards – standards set by parents and aimed at our children’s success. As a delegate, I will work to improve education by making sure our resources focuses on teachers and kids in the classroom, not bureaucratic processes that waste money and tie the hands of teachers.

Focus on the Classroom

As an elected official, I will work with members of both parties and elected officials on both the state and local level to make sure our resources are going to where they do the most good for our children: in the classroom. Attracting and retaining high quality teachers is the most important priority.

I support the proposition to mandate 65% of Virginia’s educational dollars be spent in the classroom rather than administrative or bureaucratic costs. This will increase education spending across the state by $400 million a year without raising taxes.

As a businessman and former military officer, I also understand leadership and how to stimulate high performance. That is why I support merit pay for teachers to encourage them to be the best each can be, reward our best teachers, and ensure that poor performers are either retrained or removed from the system. No system can long perform at the highest levels without accountability. Let us pay our teachers at the national average or above – but make sure that our best teachers are rewarded.

More Options Creates Better Options

There are many creative solutions to helping our schools adapt to the requirements of our modern society and our economy. Unfortunately many of these ideas are stopped by a system too dedicated to preserving the status quo. To adapt is to thrive, and so therefore I support new ways of providing tax credits for parents whose children need alternative school environments, charter schools, and school choice. Competition makes both public and private schools better, and gives parents more and better options for their children. I also support creating competition among public schools as well.

I also support expanding our AP, IB, and college-level courses, as well as vocational and technical alternatives for students who wish to pursue those.

A Need for Creative Solutions

I am in favor of creative solutions to our education challenges. From new technology to new ways of supporting our schools through community action, I will ensure that new solutions that can work will not be thwarted by those interests that do not put our kids first. An example is community foundations for supporting schools – it is a good idea and I will support the extension of that program.

There are also plenty of opportunities to create private-public partnerships with businesses looking to make an investment in our education system. If the community supports a proposal, there is no reason we shouldn’t jump on the chance to improve our children’s learning experience with private dollars.

Virginia Students Deserve a Fair Chance to Attend Virginia Colleges

Many parents are rightfully concerned about the ability for their kids to get into Virginia colleges, even if they have exceptional grades and test scores. In Northern Virginia, it is particularly hard for our students to get into our best universities due to competition from out-of-state and other Virginian students.

Whatever process we use to make it happen, it’s obvious that we need a higher percentage of Virginia students in Virginia colleges. States like South Carolina have an in-state ratio of 93%; we’re nowhere close to that, and both parents and students are paying the price for it. With one child in college and two more getting closer to graduating, I know what Mount Vernon families are going through, and I will work to make a difference.

100,000 More Degrees

I support Bob McDonnell’s initiative to award 100,000 more bachelor’s and associate’s degrees over the next 15 years, taking our percentage of residents with college degrees from 35% to 50%, and I look forward to working with him to accomplish this goal.

Paid for and Authorized by Jay McConville for Delegate