Former New York Governor George Pataki announced his run for the Republican presidential nomination in a speech on May 28 in Exeter, New Hampshire, the birthplace of the Republican Party. Pataki was instrumental in getting charter schools launched in New York. In his announcement he vowed to end Common Core state curriculum standards and attacked the spread of government that tries “to dictate to every child in every school what they must learn.” Here are some of his views on education:

Department of Education:

We have to scale back the Department of Education dramatically. It is too big, like the rest of the government, too big, too powerful and too intrusive. Education has always been a state-controlled issue. I am a believer that the best government is the government closest to the people. So leave education to the local schools, the district schools, the states. And let the Education Department get information on best practices that they can distribute, but not try to tell our schools and our parents how our children are educated in America. Period.

New Hampshire Republican Leadership Summit, Nashua, New Hampshire, April 2015

Common Core:

Common Core is a horrible idea. It’s exactly like Obamacare. You have a bunch of people sitting in a faraway place in Washington who think they are smarter than we are, who are going to dictate to every community in this country how they educate their child. That’s not America. So Common Core should go.

New Hampshire Republican Leadership Summit, Nashua, New Hampshire, April 2015

Charter schools:

Our charter schools have been a great success. Competition works. Now, let’s build on that success by dramatically expanding charter schools throughout the entire state.

State of the State address, Albany, New York, January 2006

Mayoral control:

Last session, we made historic reforms to the New York City school system, putting control and accountability for the city schools where they belong–with the mayor. These reforms were a long time coming… Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg, you’re already implementing sweeping reforms. Your leadership is breaking the mold on education. Congratulations. That law provided more accountability in New York City. This year we should also give the mayors of our other urban centers in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany more input and a greater voice in their school systems.

State of the State address, Albany, New York, January 2003

STEM:

Let’s set a goal today–let’s not only renew our commitment to improving educational opportunities for all students in New York State, let’s make New York the nation’s leader in preparing our students for careers in math, science and engineering. Let’s give middle school students an academic boost–let’s provide them with new math and science summer programs at our community colleges all across the Empire State. Let’s create more math and science high schools like the Tech Valley Science High School in the Capital Region– schools focused specifically on teaching the skills our students will need to succeed in the high-tech economy of tomorrow. And finally, let’s invest in our future by providing free SUNY or CUNY (university) tuition to students who pursue math and science degrees and commit to teaching right here in New York State.

State of the State address, Albany, New York, January 2006

Personal education background:

Pataki, 69, grew up on the family farm in the Hudson Valley and graduated from Peekskill High School. He worked his way through Yale University in three years and was a classmate of President George W. Bush. He went on to earn his law degree at Columbia University in 1970. His wife, Libby, is a graduate of Clark University in Massachusetts. As a young woman, his mother, now 99, had to turn down a scholarship to Cornell because she was the only member of the family with a job.