Lee Metcalf: “I am a former teacher from Everett, Washington. Over the 30 years I have taught in Everett, there are now thousands of…”

“I am a former teacher from Everett, Washington. Over the 30 years I have taught in Everett, there are now thousands of former students in Washington State and scattered across the Nation. I know how crucial the education improvements in this budget are. We must now make education one of our top priorities. Yet, we are all well aware that Washington, D.C. cannot run our schools. It would be a disaster for us to try. Our mission is to support education but leave maximum power and authority at the State and local levels. Our school systems worked so well when the parents and the local school boards had full responsibility for local schools. However, the financing of education has not kept pace, so our best course now is to provide all the money possible and leave the actual running of the schools in the hands of the local school board and of the teachers, remembering, however, that the parents must retain ultimate control of schools or the system will fail the students.”