By Ashlee Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise
State Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) addressed the Donley County Retired School Personnel Monday night at the group’s regular meeting and visited with local voters.
The representative discussed his freshman year in the State Legislature last session, and touched on several issues of local interest.
Appropriate to the setting, the discussion focused early on education and federal interference with Texas’ schools, particularly in terms of mandatory testing.
King said the federal government puts about $5.5 billion into Texas schools, and that Washington wants to move the state to the Common Core objectives even though the state has spent years refining its own skills objectives.
“I don’t want Common Core,” King said. “I don’t want the federal government in Texas schools, and I don’t want Austin in Clarendon any more than it has to be.”
King also said the state needs to fund community colleges to help get high school kids into appropriate career and technical programs.
“I’m going to continue to work for Clarendon College and all the small schools,” King said. “I want a level playing field for all our kids.”
The representative also noted that it would be great to see the state’s education system tailored to suit students’ interests and skills rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to learning.
King also discussed water issues and specifically addressed the three-person board that is now overseeing water development in the state. That board is appointed by the governor and is currently comprised of a water lawyer, an engineer, and a business representative. King and others want to enlarge that board to include rural and agricultural interests by requiring a board member for each of five regions in the state.
King said a recent poll found that most people in the metroplex believe that groundwater is a state issue and not a private property issue.
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