Education

Invest in our children - We need to invest in and equalize public education in Connecticut - it is the key to our continued growth and prosperity.  Funding our local school systems needs to be a priority in our state budget, not an area that is constantly on the chopping block. We need to protect Manchester and Glastonbury schools from cuts to education, and the State needs to work with our towns, not against them, to help to plan and manage the annual education budget for our schools.  When the State cuts school funding and municipal aid, we drive up property taxes.

Training tomorrow’s workforce - There are currently thousands of job openings in Connecticut’s high-tech manufacturing fields and many more projected in the years to come.  The state, business community and our schools must coordinate their efforts to prepare workers for available jobs in high-tech manufacturing. This includes investment in our technical high schools, apprenticeship programs, and community colleges to overhaul our workforce pipeline and ensure Connecticut students have the skills they need to meet Connecticut’s growing workforce needs.  I have been focused closely on this during my time in the legislature and have introduced and have successfully passed legislation designed to develop this pipeline.  In 2021, I worked to deliver funding to Manchester High School to expand its manufacturing apprenticeship programs.

Debt-free Community College and Controlling Student Loan Debt -  I co-sponsored legislation to make debt-free community college a reality in Connecticut beginning in 2020 and am proud of my work as the Banking Committee Chair to tackle the issue of student loan debt.   We need to continue to make college affordable and accessible to all Connecticut students.  An educated workforce drives a successful economy.