Political Quotes

“I rise to express my concern with the nomination of Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education. The State of West Virginia is a State made up of a lot of small towns. We don't have any what you call large metropolitan areas. We are an urban rural State. For many communities in West Virginia, our schools are more than just classrooms, teachers, and textbooks. Our children in West Virginia learn more in their public school than reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are the heart of the community and a home away from home for most of them. They are a safe place to stay after school where no harm will come to them. They are a place where nutritional meals are served and health care services are provided by trusted school nurses. After meeting with Mrs. DeVos and watching her answer questions at her confirmation hearing, I have a hard time believing she has the qualifications to be the Secretary of Education. I believe in local control of education and also that strong public schools are vital to our State's future. Education is local. Each one of our 55 counties is responsible for the financing of the schools. If the counties do not have the sufficient funds, we have what we call a school aid formula that basically offsets that so that every child in West Virginia will get a quality education.…”