issues:

issues: • Education: This is the number one issue for our future. 1) I will work to bring the Virginia Literary Fund up to current needs. This fund is a working capital account maintained by the State, established for the purpose of providing low interest rate loans to, counties for school construction and repair. Currently, there is more than a seven year wait to get a loan from the Fund, and a $7 million cap, at a time when schools generally cost in excess of $50 million. 2) I will work to enhance the community college system in order to provide more educational opportunities geared to jobs, including: a) higher level vocational courses; b) higher level agriculture courses; and c) cost-sharing with Valley businesses to develop courses geared specifically to jobs in the Valley. 3) I will propose that classes for special ed children be fully funded by the State, so school systems that provide excellence in this area are not unfairly burdened. And 4) I will work to ensure-that teacher pay in Virginia is established at a rate at or above the national average in order to recruit the best and retain them when they’re here. • Public Safety: The safety of our families and our communities is one of the most important family values that we can provide and is essential to maintaining our open rural way of life. There are three areas where I will concentrate my energies. 1) We must give our public safety officials the tools necessary to keep our communities safe, including modem communication equipment. 2) Methamphetamine has the ability to do to our rural areas what heroin has done to our cities. It is self-induced Alzheimer’s. To fight this scourge, I will fight to strengthen the laws, prevent abusers from having free access to the pharmaceuticals that are used to make meth, focus on prevention in the schools, and treat the production of drugs in the presence