Bob Schaffer: “Republicans are for decentralized government. We are for strong high-quality schools, we are for well-paid teachers who…”

“Republicans are for decentralized government. We are for strong high-quality schools, we are for well-paid teachers who are well-trained and paid on a professional basis, and we are for money being spent on the priorities that exist in various communities around the country. The Washington model, the liberal model, the one the Democrats and the President have espoused over in the White House is something very different. Their model is oriented toward building this large Federal bureaucracy here in Washington to make decisions for the whole country. To them, that seems more efficient. And as we are seeing, structurally it just cannot work. A large centralized education authority here in Washington takes power away from locally elected school board members. It takes decision-making away from the classroom teacher, away from the school board members, away from the principals, away from the people who know the children best and understand the priorities of a local community most; the people who can actually name the names of the children in those classrooms. Those are the people we as Republicans trust, and that is where we want to place the authority and resources, meaning tax dollars.”