As an elected official of Roanoke County, I wanted to express my agreement with President Trump on his selection of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. I am very pleased that the Senate confirmed this nomination late last week.
I am not a supporter of the Department of Education in general, however, until we can push all education decisions back to the parents where they rightfully belong, I look forward to having someone that supports school choice in the position of Secretary of Education.
As I mention so often every issue is a LOCAL ISSUE. Every child is being educated at the local level not somewhere In “Federal land.” Every piece of legislation that pertains to education affects the children in counties and cities across our country.
In Roanoke County we are on an unsustainable course in funding education for our children. The total cost to educate a child in government schools in Roanoke County is about $10,000 per student. If you consider an average classroom of 25 students, that amounts to $250,000 being spent per classroom. If the average teacher, according to the Roanoke Times, makes $50,000 per year, where is the other $200,000 being spent?
I look forward to having an innovative thinker as Secretary of Education that can bring new ideas that will help push school choice back to the parents at the local level. School choice initiatives will help raise the level of education and at a price tag that is sustainable without further indebting future generations.
Al Bedrosian
Roanoke County Supervisor – Hollins District
