Education has been a common theme in this year's state elections and continues to provoke debate in the race to become the 4th District's delegate to the United States House of Representatives.
Although the three candidates-Democratic incumbent Rep. David Price, Republican Jess Ward and Libertarian Brian Towey-agree that North Carolina education is in need of improvement, they have different ways of answering that call.
During his six terms in office, Price has been deeply involved in education and said he hopes to build on his accomplishments.
In particular, he would like to nationalize the North Carolina Fellows Program-an effort to recruit and train teachers from universities and community colleges-by passing the Teaching Fellows Act of 2000.
Additionally, Price wants to expand programs aimed at improving education. "I continue to be a strong supporter of the programs magnet schools offer," he said, "and I am a strong supporter of Head Start and after-school programs."
But Ward, a Cary town council member, hopes to improve education through experimentation with voucher-like programs. He believes schools need to test different options before they commit to any given policy.
"I think we should raise the limit on charter schools and allow school boards to compete for them," he said. "[We should] periodically evaluate [each school's] success. Future success and the marketplace will determine if the school continues."
Espousing the traditional Republican viewpoint, Ward said he wants to return money and decisions to local school districts.
"We need to get the money back [to the schools] and let them make decisions," he said. "If they need to make adjustments, at the local level they can do it quickly."
Towey agreed and added that, as a former home schooler, he does not believe a general education policy is suitable for all students. "Until we get rid of a one-size-fits-all education, it's not going to improve," he said.
The candidates also differed on how to address the state's growing Hispanic population, an issue dear to many local voters.
Price emphasized the need for better statewide human services such as health care. He added that at the same time, the federal government should make naturalization easier.
In contrast, Towey believes that an across-the-board legalization would help keep immigrants from having to accept the rock-bottom wages that many of them must accept.
"As long as we have illegals in the market, that's cutting wages for everyone and it's essentially creating slave labor," Towey said.
He argued that North Carolina residents would not suffer as a result of the legalization.
"For every mouth to feed, there are two hands to work," he said. "The newcomers need a house to live in, cars to drive and clothes to wear. Every new person is an expansion of the [United States] market."
Ward argued that streamlining the immigration policy would be a better alternative.
The marriage penalty-a tax incurred by couples filing joint returns-is a particularly spicy topic between the Democratic and Republican candidates.
Ward argued that the tax attacks a fundamental institution in society, marriage. He added that Price's votes indicate that he supports the penalty. Price challenged these claims.
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