We need to Ease the Squeeze our kids are facing in overcrowded schools. Our schools are Montgomery County’s most indispensable social and economic resource and they should be funded accordingly. However, with a school system that is growing by more than one new high school a year (2,500 students), funding isn’t keeping pace with needs.

Reducing School Overcrowding

We need to ensure that education and school construction funding are the first priority of every county budget and fight harder to get a more equitable share of state funding. While we’ve made some strides in recent years, Montgomery County still receives the lowest proportionate share of funding of any jurisdiction in the state, despite having Maryland’s highest enrollment growth. We need to dispel the myth that Montgomery County doesn’t have the same needs as other jurisdictions. In fact, we have more students on free and reduced meals in Montgomery County Public Schools than the entire enrollment of DC Public Schools. As a former top advisor at the Board of Public Works which oversees the State of Maryland’s public school construction program, I am uniquely positioned to leverage my relationships at the state level and to scrutinize the way taxpayer dollars are invested to ensure we maximize our investments in our public schools

As the son of former Montgomery County public school teacher and PTA president, I support strong standards to ensure that our schools aren’t overrun and overcrowded, including dedicating impact taxes and other fees to school construction to ensure that the revenue generated is actually going towards solving our significant needs.

Early Childhood Education

In order to keep up with the regional competition for young families and the educational needs of all our children, we need to move towards universal access to Pre-K and expanded early childhood education. With more than half the county’s students not kindergarten ready, early childhood education is both an educational and economic imperative. We need to partner with the business community and our private providers to make it a reality as part of a new approach to education – no longer focusing exclusively on K through 12 public education, but thinking more comprehensively on “Early Childhood to Career” education.

College Access and Affordability

The cost of college should never be the reason why someone doesn’t go or can’t finish college, which is why I’ve dedicated much of my professional life and advocacy efforts to making college more accessible and affordable for more families -- lobbying Congress and testifying before the US Department of Education for $20 billion in federal investments in student loans and grants, advocating in Annapolis to keep tuition down as the student body president at University of Maryland, providing college scholarships for veterans, and serving as a Board Member and Interim Executive Director for Maryland’s 529 College Savings Plans which helps hundreds of thousands of Maryland families afford college. We should study models in other jurisdictions like New York City and Garrett County (MD) to learn best practices and pursue cost-effective ways to make universal college access a reality for every single student here in Montgomery County.

Career and Technical Education

While I want to make college a viable option for every student and every family who desires it, and I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to making that a reality, I also recognize that college isn’t for everyone. For the 25 percent of Montgomery County students who don’t attend college, we need to ensure that they are prepared for productive careers. We need to build public-private partnerships with local employers to create career and technical education programs so we are educating young people with the skills they will actually need in the jobs where they are actually needed in our economy. This includes not only expanding apprenticeship programs, but also co-operative education programs, and part-time job-share programs for students looking to advance while providing for their families. As a county, we need to have a better understanding of the needs of our businesses now and in the future, and ensure that we align expanded workforce development programs and career technical education programs with the sector strategy for our county and region.

By keeping class sizes down, investing in comprehensive “Early Childhood to Career” education, and making college affordable and accessible. we can build better and brighter opportunities for our families and our collective economic future.