In my I have questions for __________ series for my blog I post questions for candidates and then they can post their reply.
Edward Headington is running for the 38th State Assembly district as a Democrat. His opponents include Republicans Scott Wilk and Patricia McKeon.
Edward,
What education reforms, beyond funding, do you support?
You can post your reply here as a comment or email me.
@ Brian - Thanks for the interest. Here are five thoughts on reforming education:
1. Give school districts more flexibility to survive under unfunded mandates to spend money on specific programs, personnel and other expenditures that often should not apply to school districts anyway.
2. Make it easier to remove dangerous employees from school campuses and fire them without benefits if they're convicted of violent, on-campus crimes.
3. Allow more programs for on-line learning to help districts save on textbook costs (and help students improve their posture).
4. Help struggling schools escape burdensome bureaucracies and operate independently under the umbrella of proven charter school operators.
5. Require more parental and teacher input on curriculum for each campus as opposed to all curriculum being drafted by a few bureaucrats in Sacramento.
P.S. You are forgetting about Paul Strickland (www.electpaulstrickland.com) who is very much in the race as far as anyone can tell. Positions and potential notwithstanding, that last name still resonates with some portions of the electorate.
Spend a few days in different classrooms throughout the assembly district as a volunteer, not an observer, to find out first hand what goes on. Then meet with teachers, parents, students, and administrators to get their input on problems and solutions.