Every student in New York State is entitled to receive a quality education. Because education is so fundamental to the future well-being of our state, we must continually work toward improving the system. That is why we must stop any abuse of taxpayer dollars and ensure that those monies invested in our schools and our children's education is spent wisely.

As a member of the Committee on Education, I consistently strive to find ways in which our current system can be improved. Among the reforms I believe necessary to the improvement of our educational system are:

• Enhancing oversight and establishing accountability in the school budget and spending process.

• Establishing tax credits for teachers who invest their own money in classroom programs thus enabling them to offer even more; and

• Creating loan forgiveness programs for graduates of math, science, engineering and high-tech programs in order to keep the best and brightest in New York.