SCHOOLS & FUNDING
Supporting Local Schools
Catoosa County Public Schools don't have a spending problem, they have a funding problem. For too long, Georgia has followed a "starve and blame" cycle: underfund public schools, call them broken, and then use that as an excuse to divert public money into private hands. Catoosa County has lived this firsthand, and I will be a firewall against it.
Georgia's school funding formula was written in 1985 and has barely changed since. It does not account for the real cost of health insurance, retirement contributions, transportation, or school safety today, and it actually punishes growing communities like ours: when local property values rise, the state quietly pulls funding back out the other side. The result is a district that runs lean (administrative costs are below the state average) while still facing real budget gaps, year after year, through no fault of local leadership.
I believe in accountability, transparency, and sound budgeting. But accountability has to be honest about where the pressure is actually coming from. I will not support piling additional unfunded mandates and political punishment onto a district that is already absorbing state cost increases it never created, because every dollar spent proving what we already know is a dollar not spent in a classroom.
Every child deserves access to a quality education, every teacher deserves support and respect, and every community deserves schools that are set up to succeed. I will fight to keep public funds in public classrooms, modernize Georgia's outdated education funding formula, and make sure it reflects the real costs schools face today. The answer is not looking for the exit. The answer is doing the hard work of investing in our future.
TAXES & ACCOUNTABILITY
Protecting Local Control
The people closest to a community should have a real voice in the decisions that shape it. My job as state representative is not to go to Atlanta and claim power for myself, but to work alongside the local leaders our residents have already chosen to make sure Catoosa County's needs are heard at the state level.
I support tools like SPLOST and LHOST that give communities real options for funding local priorities and providing property tax relief. I'd support putting LHOST before Catoosa County voters. But those decisions only work if voters have the full picture: who benefits, who bears the burden, and what happens when the economy turns. I won't bring a measure to voters that only tells half the story.
When Catoosa County voters recently approved a property tax exemption for seniors, the ballot didn't say it would permanently remove $3 million per year from the school district budget, or that other homeowners would see their millage rate go up to cover the difference. That's the other half of the story, and voters deserved it.
The real answer to property tax burden is updating the QBE formula so the state funds a larger share of public school costs. Georgia already has the education surplus to do this. I'll push for that in Atlanta so Catoosa County residents see genuine, lasting relief without local governments being forced to choose between services.
I'll also stay in direct communication with local officials and won't drop legislation affecting Catoosa County without talking to county and city leaders first. Good government should be accountable, transparent, and grounded in the real needs of the people who live here.
TRANSPARENCY & MENTAL HEALTH
Expanding Local Healthcare
Access to healthcare should not depend on your ZIP code, your income, or which side of the state line a doctor chooses to practice on. Families in Catoosa County deserve care that is affordable, transparent, and close to home.
I will fight for policies that make hospital billing more transparent, strengthen healthcare access in border communities like ours, and protect patients when gaps in the system put their health at risk.
That means making sure working families can understand what they will be charged before they receive care, not after. It means recognizing that Georgia is competing with Tennessee for doctors, specialists, and mental health providers, and that our state needs to take that competition seriously. And it means treating medication continuity as a patient safety issue, especially for people who rely on mental health prescriptions and cannot safely go without care when a provider retires, relocates, or becomes unavailable.
Catoosa County should not be left behind because Atlanta refuses to look closely at the realities facing border communities. I will support practical solutions that improve healthcare access, recruit and retain providers, modernize telehealth rules, and protect patients from unnecessary gaps in care.
SCHOOLS & FUNDING
Supporting Local Schools
Catoosa County Public Schools don't have a spending problem, they have a funding problem. For too long, Georgia has followed a "starve and blame" cycle: underfund public schools, call them broken, and use that as an excuse to divert public money into private hands. Catoosa County has lived this firsthand, and I will be a firewall against it.
Georgia's 1985 school funding formula doesn't account for real costs today and actually punishes growing communities like ours when local property values rise.
Every child deserves a quality education, every teacher deserves support, and every community deserves schools set up to succeed. I will fight to keep public funds in public classrooms, modernize Georgia's outdated funding formula, and make sure it reflects what schools actually cost today. The answer is not looking for the exit. The answer is doing the hard work of investing in our future.
TAXES & ACCOUNTABILITY
Protecting Local Control
The people closest to a community should have a real voice in the decisions that shape it. I support tools like SPLOST and LHOST that give communities real options for tax relief, but only when voters have the full picture: who benefits, who bears the burden, and what happens when the economy turns. I won't bring a measure to voters that only tells half the story.
The real answer to property tax burden is updating the QBE formula so the state funds a larger share of public school costs. Georgia already has the education surplus to do this. I'll push for that in Atlanta so Catoosa County residents see genuine, lasting relief.
I won't drop legislation affecting Catoosa County without talking to county and city leaders first. Good government should be accountable, transparent, and grounded in the real needs of the people who live here.
TRANSPARENCY & MENTAL HEALTH
Expanding Local Healthcare
Access to healthcare should not depend on your ZIP code, your income, or which side of the state line a doctor chooses to practice on. Families in Catoosa County deserve care that is affordable, transparent, and close to home.
I will fight for transparent hospital billing, stronger healthcare access in border communities like ours, and policies that treat medication continuity as the patient safety issue it is, especially for mental health prescriptions.
Catoosa County should not be left behind because Atlanta refuses to look closely at border community realities. I will support practical solutions to improve access, recruit providers, and modernize telehealth rules.