Making education a priority

By Stephen Derek Barkalow

By reforming health care we can make education a priority again

California is the sixth-largest economy in the world, yet we rank near the bottom of all U. S. states in per pupil spending. If we want to keep our economy strong and secure a great future for our children, we cannot continue to underfund our shcools and underpay our teachers.

To fix our education system, we must attract and retain the best teachers from atound the country. We must emphasize training in new technology, so our students can compete in this 21st century economy. Most importantly, we must realize that educating a student is far cheaper than housing a prisoner. Investing in education is not just the right thing for our children, it's the smart thing for our state budget. By cutting costs through reforming our health care system, we will find that we can more easily make education a priority.