Ray Andersen's Position on Relevant Issues

By Ray Andersen

As your County elected Trustee, I will ensure that you have an active voice on the educational board. I will advocate for wise spending. I will support all safe school initiatives. I will fight for the funding that our county needs to produce successful educated citizens.

• Ensure that all students, regardless of their career goals, are served by their school curricula. This means providing education for those students who are bound for college and a program for those students who want to learn a trade, skill or craft.
• Fund universal pre-school programs with public monies. Parents with pre-k children should be given the opportunity to choose a pre-school program for their eligible children without having to worry about financing their choices. Studies have consistently shown that children who attend pre-school are much more successful in their school years. Money spent on pre-school programs is a good investment in our future.
• Reduce or eliminate the "monetization" of our schools. Our free public school system, a revolutionary idea when started over one hundred years ago, is being threatened by corporate interests who want to exploit the commercial value of our schools and the millions of students who attend them. At this age, these students represent a captive and vulnerable population, susceptible to messaging that is not conducive to a good learning environment. Schools can use the funds being dangled by these corporate interests, but not at the expense of the integrity of our great public school system.

Education

• Reduce the influence of "testing" to determine achievement levels.
• Promote the use of educational programs that are effective in preparing students for the jobs of the future.
• Expand union apprenticeship programs and labor-management training partnerships.
• Create new funding sources to train and retrain workers for the Green Economy.
• Expand and fund Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.
• Support the creation of a coalition composed of all stakeholders (parents, students, school board members, teachers and administrative personnel) to improve the relationship among all stakeholders
• Ensure that charter schools meet eligibility and accountability standards that are equal to, or greater, that what is required of public schools. Charter schools often are exempt from accountability standards.
• Ensure the physical safety of the school and its students, faculty and administration.

• Protect teachers and students from "outside" elements, including the influence of third parties whose interests are contrary to providing a sound education for the population being served by the school.
• Maintain only one system of compensation for all teachers in a school or school district. Stop the use of two-tier compensation systems which tend to split the faculty into opposing camps.
• Use some of the funds from the Local Control funding Formula to improve compensation for teachers. Teachers should be recognized as key players in the educational arena. Teacher pay, including benefits, should be equal to the compensation package of law enforcement and medical support personnel.

School reserves are necessary to ensure that critical programs are funded when outside funding is limited; however, school reserves should be capped at 3% so that funds can be used today to fund programs for students who are in school today. Excessive reserves are idle resources that are of no benefit to students and to the community.

Health Care

Universal health care should be provided to all, whether working or not, whether they can afford it or not. A healthier workforce is a more productive and happier workforce. Citizens who are provided adequate health care coverage tend to seek treatment before their ailments become more serious. Citizens who are not covered tend to use emergency room services when needing treatment; this is the most expensive method for delivering health care.