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Hubert H. Humphrey      Response 5

Question 5: Please describe the one issue that is the single most important reason you chose to run for office?

My number one priority as Governor is to keep Minnesota's
commitment to our children and create a world class
public education system, beginning when our children are
born.

We invest in Early Childhood Family Education to help
parents attain good parenting skills and we invest in our
youngest learners with Early Head Start and Head Start
and a commitment to learning-based child care.

For our public schools, we stress the ABC's:
Accountability, Basics, and Choice. We must set high
standards and hold schools accountable. Our proposed $235
million Education Excellence initiative links funding
increases with student performance.

We must also focus on mastering the basics -- reading,
writing, and mathematics; but add to that some new basics
including the use of technology, working in teams, and
the ability to analyze a problem. We give school
districts funding to implement what they need to succeed
-- for smaller class sizes, early childhood education or
new technology.

Beyond high school, we make certain that every student
can afford higher education with tax credits for families
to send their kids to college.

World class public schools are the foundation for a
world-class workforce. For Minnesota to succeed in the
21st Century economy we must have a highly trained,
highly qualified workforce. I am committed to making that
happen through investments in our public education
system.