Education (click on link for more information)
BASIC BELIEFS
More money does NOT equal better education. Some of the worst school districts in the country have the highest expenditures per student. The issue is what and how we teach our kids, discipline in the classroom and parental involvement.
All the extra billions of dollars spent to "fix" education has mostly gone to increase teacher pay and benefits and give them fat pensions when they retire.
Specific legislation needed
1) Textbooks: Many textbooks in public schools are politically correct and brainwash our kids, especially history books. The best way to fix the problem with biased textbooks is to require any school district that plans to purchase new textbooks to make a public announcement and have a sample of the textbooks under consideration available for the public to view for a minimum of 1 month. Prior to public viewing, school board members and department heads will evaluate each textbook. Their opinions must be displayed with each book so the public knows which books are supported by school officials. This way the public knows what type of ideology school authorities have.
2) Teacher Contracts: About 75% of the cost of education is salary and benefits. When a contract comes up for renewal, the main areas of the contract must be published in the local newspaper - specifically teacher share of medical, salaries, pensions, paid days off, and so on. All contracts must be approved in a voter referendum. If the public votes “no”, then it is back to the negotiating table. Having a voter referendum on teacher contracts will keep everyone honest.
3) Whenever a teacher is approved for a paid sabbatical, it must be published in the local paper along with the total number of teachers currently on paid sabbatical along with the cost to the school district and members of the school board who voted in favor of the paid leave.