Sen. Ruben Gallego unveils 4-part plan to restore America’s public education system

U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego has introduced a four-part plan to restore the public education system across the country.

The Arizona Democrat’s goal is to increase access to education for every student, including those in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas, as well as to improve teacher retention, protect education funding and create school-to-workforce pathways.

Gallego told KTAR News 92.3 FM that the plan was created to improve schooling nationally, but it’s also personal.

“I have a 9-year-old boy. I worry about his education all the time,” he said. “And I have two other kids that are coming right behind him that will be starting school not too long after. And so, this is really a reflection of my worries about them, my hopes for them — and for the millions of other American kids too.”

Gallego’s plan, which was released Sept. 8, is laid out as four initiatives:

• Reinvesting in the U.S. Department of Education, with a focus on funding the Title I program and Impact Aid.
• Increasing teaching pay and benefits and improving teacher preparation programs.
• Addressing chronic absenteeism and student mental health concerns.
• Expanding education-to-career pathways by partnering with trade schools and universities and creating more dual-enrollment options.

Gallego said the most pressing of the four topics is bolstering the teacher workforce by increasing funding for educators.

“Teaching salaries just haven’t kept up with the cost of living,” he said. “It is hard to be a teacher now. Teachers are also parents, they’re also social workers, they’re also therapists. But yeah, if you look at the pay of a public school teacher, it’s actually gone down compared to other professions.”

He said that funding that could go to teachers would have to come from reversing the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. Department of Education.

Gallego said the easiest way to get that funding back is to pass appropriations bills, which could be a challenge with the Trump administration fighting to cut back on the department at the same time. However, he said he’s seen bipartisan support.

“I do think what we’ve seen … working with Republicans, [is] they don’t agree with the Department of Education cuts,” he said.

Sen. Ruben Gallego says vouchers hurt education in rural Arizona

He added that Arizona can help improve its own education system on a local level, but a national initiative is needed because the local education changes have not improved the state’s system.

“I would do my best to stop federal vouchers, but at the local level, these vouchers aren’t helping our public school education system,” Gallego said.

He said that systems like Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program largely benefit families that were already sending their kids to private schools.

“They’re actually draining money from some of the most vulnerable communities, including rural Arizona, where many people will never be able to go to any private school using vouchers because it’s so far from anything,” he said.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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