Haley vows to reform U.S. Dept. of Education during Manchester campaign stop

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MANCHESTER, NH – Presidential candidate Nikki Haley underscored the need to revamp the country’s education system during the “Parents In Charge” Town Hall at Founders Academy on Sept. 6.

As a parent herself, Haley said there is much that goes on in the schools that parents know nothing about.

“We have to end this chaotic cycle, the priorities have been lost in our classrooms,” she said.

“We need full transparency in the classroom. They’re trying to take custody of our kids, we can’t let that happen, they’re our kids.”

If elected, Haley said she would reduce the size of the U.S. Department of Education, which currently has 4,400 employees and a budget of $68 billion. She would also bring vocational curriculum back to the classroom. In addition, Haley said it would be imperative to keep math, science and English/language arts at the forefront.

In terms of funding, Haley said the DOE should not be able to dictate how states spend federal education dollars. Rather, those decisions should be made by state officials.

“This is not rocket science,” said Haley, who served as governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017.

She also encouraged more parents to be involved with the Board of Education.

“Go to your school board meetings and see how many parents are there,” she said. “School boards are the first line of defense.”

The mask mandate, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, was a mistake, Haley said, as students in kindergarten and first grade were unable to see the facial expressions of their teachers and peers. Those students, she said, now suffer from social anxiety. Haley also maintained that masks prevented students from seeing how their teachers read books. As a result, she said two-thirds of America’s elementary school children are unable to read.

“I speak hard truths, if a child can’t read by third grade, they’re four times less likely to graduate high school,” she said.

Haley then called attention to the 2020-2021 school year, the majority of which was conducted through remote learning.

“What a mess that was,” she said.

The latest national polls from Morning Consult show Haley with five percent of the vote in the Republican Primary. This puts her in fifth place behind former Vice President Mike Pence, who has six percent, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has eight percent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has 15 percent, and former President Donald Trump, who continues to lead the field with 60 percent.

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