I believe in public schools. I oppose sending tax dollars to private schools. I also support expanding pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds. I also work to see MSU sustain its excellence, and support affordable tuition for Montanans. Unfortunately, Montana is going backwards, giving enormous tax credits to millionaires who fund private religious schools. Parents have a right to send their children to private schools, but our public school resources should not be siphoned off to pay for those decisions. This is especially so where unaccountable private schools avoid serving children with disabilities, and where private religious schools are permitted to teach that people of other religions or lifestyles are to be shunned or worse. I vigorously advocated against diverting taxpayer money for private schools, especially religious schools, and will continue to do so. To the extent that public funding of private schools is a reality, I introduced legislation that would have required accountability from private schools accepting public money. I also unsuccessfully sought to amend, by adding accountability provisions, bills which expanded private school funding with private money.
Public education needs to be expanded to include free preschool for 3-4 year olds. Early education prepares children for success in school as they grow older, which benefits us all. Currently, the cost of pre-school is creating hardship for many Montana families. We need to fix that.
Finally, Montana State University is a gem, offering quality education to Montana residents, with reasonable tuition. I consistently advocated against the cultural movement which demeans the value of university education and which seeks to raise tuition on Montanans.