Michelle Wu: “I recently hosted a series of education town hall meetings in Astoria, McMinnville, Beaverton, St. Helens, and Portland…”

“I recently hosted a series of education town hall meetings in Astoria, McMinnville, Beaverton, St. Helens, and Portland, Oregon. The attendance at these Education Town Halls was absolutely remarkable. Clearly, Oregonians are committed to improving public education. Congress can honor that commitment by providing resources to help Oregonians and all Americans make schools better. Many school districts share similar problems: Large class size, aging or inadequate facilities, and unfunded or unnecessary Federal mandates. However, the needs of each community differ. Schools in Beaverton and Hillsboro suffer a crisis of rapid growth, creating classroom overcrowding and exacerbating student discipline problems. Schools there need the resources to expand and maintain school quality. Schools in communities such as Astoria and McMinnville need resources to modernize school buildings and provide students with up-to-date technologic tools. In Astoria, the most modern elementary school was built in 1927. Some classrooms have only one electric plug in the entire classroom. This is simply not an adequate environment in which to prepare our children for the 21st century. To help school districts deliver high-quality K through 12 education, Congress can help by doing 3 simple things: Reduce class size, modernize schools, and decrease Federal mandates.”