EDUCATION

By Dave Cogdill

• Students in California rank 49th in the nation in math proficiency
• 80 percent of California fourth-graders are not proficient in reading
• Students in California rank 35th out of the 50 states on statewide SAT scores
• Classrooms in California rank 50th in the nation in size

Dave Cogdill believes that because California's school system has no competition for tax dollars there is no incentive to change. Dave supports school choice programs whereby parents may choose from among public and private schools to educate their children. Dave supports the rights of parents to home-school their children without interference from government and elimination of regulations that stand in the way of charter schools.

Dave Cogdill supports returning our priorities to basic competence and the ability to reason in fundamental educational skills (phonics-based reading, writing, arithmetic). He believes there should be solid, fundamental curricula that are left to be developed by local school boards. He supports the maximum amount of parental involvement with an emphasis on keeping as much control of the education system local. Such local control leaves the responsibility of the school as close to the parents as possible. Dave supports academic achievement as the measure of a student's success, and rejects so-called "social promotion."

Dave Cogdill believes that California has an abundance of hard-working teachers. He believes they should be paid fairly and well. A teacher has an important job and plays a fundamental role in educating future generations. However, he believes their efforts are frequently impeded and unfairly controlled by union bosses who have a disproportionate influence over our children's education. Further, he believes that we need to return to a merit-based pay structure for teachers, thereby rewarding the overwhelming number of teachers who excel. Dave also believes the tenure system must be done away with immediately.