As someone who works in the education field I pay close attention to a candidate’s stand on education policy, looking for someone who grasps how important it is to develop the talents of tomorrow’s workers and leaders. Thus on November 4 I will be voting for Ed David as state representative for House District 113. Ed recognizes that Mt. Blue and the university are vital anchors of our community. He is powerfully committed to public education at both the K-12 and university levels, and he is committed to giving schools the financial resources they need to guide our children into productive adult lives.
Proper funding is crucial. As my daughters went through the RSU 9 school system here in Farmington I was continually impressed by teachers going above and beyond to provide kids with a wealth of academic and extracurricular opportunities. Yet teachers, however dedicated, can’t succeed without adequate support. At some point there needs to be enough money provided to attract and retain good teachers and to provide them with the resources they need to serve our children to the best of their abilities. Ed David understands this and will fight to undo the drastic recent reductions in state funding for local education, and will fight to ward off the creation of any charter school that would siphon off public funds from our public schools.
Similarly, supporting higher education has to include supporting reasonable funding for higher education. Having taught at UMF for two decades, I’m all too well aware that after years of trimming there’s no budgetary “fat” that can be cut. Cutting academic programs amounts to denying some students the chance to discover what their life’s work should be, given that many students come to college not yet knowing what they want to study. A fundamental problem is that state appropriations for higher education have been steadily decreasing; Ed David will work to reverse this decline. He also will support bond issues that fund the university’s labs and other facilities, and will seek to revise the funding formula that determines UMF’s share of the overall higher education budget. Finally, he will look for ways to relieve the heavy burden of student debt for graduates who agree to live and work here in Maine.
Whether we consider this a moral issue of providing our children with the best opportunities, or an economic issue of providing potential businesses with a well-educated workforce, it should be clear that we have to find a way to improve our support of public education. It is entirely clear to Ed David, and that’s why I’ll be voting to send him to Augusta to represent us.
Chris Magri
Farmington
I agree Chris. In addition to Ed understanding the need, he has the experience to understand and weave through the complexity. He understands impact. He can move one issue or one group to understanding so he can get through the emotion of the issues to the logical solution. Ed David is the best candidate to get the job done!