Hi, everybody.This week, I spent some time traveling across Iowa talking with folks about rebuilding an economy where if you work hard, you and your family can get ahead.And along the way, I stopped in at Cascade High School to thank the teachers there for doing such a great job―and wish them luck as they head back to the classroom for this school year.There's nothing more important to our country's future than the education we give our kids. And there's no one more important to that education than the person at the front of the classroom.Teachers matter. Most work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies―just to make a difference.They give everything for our kids―and in return, we should invest in them.But here's the thing: this year, several thousand fewer educators will be going back to school.Since 2009, we've lost more than 300,000 education jobs, in part, because of budget cuts at the state and local level.Think about what that means for our country.At a time when the rest of the world is racing to out-educate America; these cuts force our kids into crowded classrooms, cancel programs for preschoolers and kindergarteners, and shorten the school week and the school year.That's the opposite of what we should be doing as a country.States should be making education a priority in their budgets, even in tough fiscal times.And Congress should be willing to help out―because this affects all of us.That's why part of the jobs bill that I sent to Congress last September included support for states to prevent further layoffs and to rehire teachers who'd lost their jobs.
