1. Public Education and the State Budget Crisis: Virginia is currently near the bottom in state funding for K-12 education. What should be done about this? Where would the funds come from?

Answer: It is deplorable that Virginia has sunk so low in education funding. Teacher salaries do not reflect the importance of their work to the Commonwealth. We can't be "open for business" and not have an educated workforce. The state has not paid its share education in a long time. Our priorities went askew with tax rebates and ineffective road building. We need to involve the business/industry sector in developing solutions as Mark Warner has proposed to do.

2. Standards of Learning: What should the legislature do about the SOLs (Standards of Learning)? And how should it be accomplished?

Answer: First, we all need to understand what we are testing --- retention of facts. We are not measuring effective schools and teachers or love of the arts, problem solving, critical thinking, character education, or social skills. Second, we need to understand that many children can not pass these tests and we need to look to what the tests tell us about need for remediation. 70% of children need to pass the test for a school to be accredited --- we need to not let the other 30% be left behind. Third, use the SOLs as a tool to improve our education system, not penalize the system and the people in it. The SOLs can be a helpful tool for change in how learning takes place. The Senate, through the education committees on which Emily Couric sat, can require reporting from the Board of Education and support the Board in making changes in how we test, what is tested, and what is done with the test.

3. Priorities in Public Education: Besides additional funding, what should the legislature do to improve education in the Commonwealth? How and Why?

Answer: Several programmatic responses come to mind:
· Foster development of the Healthy Families Initiative to insure that children reach school ready to learn
· Fund scholarships for deserving students to enter higher education.
· Streamline the Workforce Investment Act job training programs.
· Provide student loans for students who go into teaching which are forgivalbe after they teach for five years.
· Convene business/industry leaders with educators to insure technical curricula meets the demands of the rapidly changing workplace
· Insure "certificate" programs are universally acceptable

Nancy O'Brien (electronic mail, November 8, 2001)