Mark Takai on Education

Invest in our public schools with federal funds

We must continue to invest in early childhood education to build the foundation for our children and their education. Early childhood education offers the best opportunity to close achievement gaps and is a major differentiator between advantaged and disadvantaged students.

In 2005, I personally discovered that Hawaii was not participating in an obscure provision of the U.S. Department of Education Impact Aid Program. I made my voice loud and clear that this was not fair and was unacceptable, and I'm proud to have won awards for recovering more than $40 million in lost federal funds for Hawaii's public school system. I can't wait to get to the U.S. House of Representatives, roll up my sleeves and find millions more.

Make two years of community college free.

Excerpts from press release from Tammy Baldwin, Senate sponsor: The America's College Promise Act makes two years of community college free by:

• Providing a federal match of $3 for every $1 invested by the state to waive community college tuition and fees for eligible students;
• Ensuring that programs offer academic credits which are fully transferable to four-year institutions in their state;
• Establishing a new grant program to provide pathways to success at minority-serving institutions by helping them cover a significant portion of tuition and fees for the first two years of attendance for low-income students.

Opposing argument: (Cato Institute, "College Courtesy of the Taxpayer? No Thanks," Jan. 9, 2015): One look at either community college outcomes or labor market outlooks reveals free college to be educational folly. Community college completion rates are atrocious: a mere 19.5% of community college students complete their programs. Meanwhile, the for-profit sector has an almost 63% completion rate. And [about 70%] of the new job categories in coming years will require a high school diploma or less.

Opposing argument: (Heritage Foundation, "Free Community College Is a Bad Deal", July 15, 2016): Free college proposals would subject community colleges to the same types of subsidies-induced inflation endemic at four-year institutions. And low-income students already have access to federal Pell Grants, which can cover the bulk of community college tuition. By contrast, a more open market of alternative schooling models, such as online or vocational education programs, could better tailor degrees at a lower cost.