Dear Neighbors,
Chicken Dinner in Hayfield!
I was able to get over to Hayfield last Saturday to enjoy a mouthwatering chicken dinner at the Hayfield Fire Department. It's a great fundraiser for them. I was pretty impressed that these firefighters are so dedicated they'll even labor over their burning grills all day in the hot sun. It was a warm one that day! I appreciate these firefighters, and all of our firefighters, for the great service they do for our communities.
Education Bill
This week’s update focuses on a topic that is obviously near to my heart, and that’s education. As a former teacher, I saw firsthand the type of impact our local schools can make on our students. I was extremely pleased with the progress we made this year funding schools and early education, as well as needed reforms to help learners throughout the state. Some of the important education provisions include:
- $1.3 billion of increased education funding
- This allows for 2% yearly increase to the per-pupil formula
- The five districts that serve the majority of students will receive a combined $3.2 million of new funding in the next two years
- Repealing the “last in, first out” default in state statute, allowing schools and local bargaining units to negotiate mutually beneficial staff retention decisions that better serve students, teachers, and schools
- Additional funding for early learning scholarships to help our youngest at-risk learners, which allows qualifying families to choose the early learning program that best fits their lifestyle and child's needs
- Overhauling our broken teacher licensure system
- Two provisions that I personally authored that were included in our education omnibus bill
- Erin’s Law, a program for schools to help children prevent and report sexual abuse
- $12.25 million in funding for Reading Corps, a topnotch reading intervention program
- This will help Reading Corps expand their quality interventions to reach more at-risk children in our schools
These are just some of the highlights of our education plan. I can’t wait to see all the positive benefits down the road as our teachers, parents, and, most importantly, our students utilize the increased funding and reforms.
As always, please feel free to reach out if you have questions about any state issue. I’d love to hear from you!
Enjoy the weekend,
Peggy