Educational opportunities must be the best in the world for our kids. Washington DC was never constitutionally empowered to administer or direct education. This is a local concern, clearly reserved for the states and the people. It makes no sense to send our tax dollars to Washington, spend half or more on bureaucracy, and then trickle them back to Colorado with regulatory chains attached.

The state treasurer has direct responsibilities to work with local school districts, insuring their financial systems are in good working order. In higher education the state treasurer is charged with tracking all of the financial bonding which our state institutions are responsible to service. These are critical areas that require the careful attention and understanding from the state treasurer.

Additionally, I will continue to be a strong advocate for real education reform. At the k-12 level this starts with real school choice. Putting parents back in charge of their children’s education is the key to making our education systems the best in the world.

In the legislature I introduced educational tax credits that could save the state billions of dollars by giving families the simple choice of using their tax dollars for the best educational options available for their own children. As your state treasurer I will continue to advocate for meaningful reform of our state’s education policies.

Finally, in higher education we must respect the diversity of our public and private institutions. This competitive environment has created the finest institutions in the world. We must not allow any federal or state policy to weaken this autonomy and freedom that contributes to strong, competitive schools.