Dear Editor,
Senator Cheryl Hooker of Rutland County has our vote and support. As our State Senator, Cheryl Hooker has championed the needs of all citizens of Rutland County. Should you contact Senator Hooker with a need or issue, she promptly responds with accurate information and assistance.
As educators in Rutland County for two decades, we have seen the financial pressure placed on Vermont’s public education system from pre-K through post-secondary higher ed and technical training.
We expressed our serious concern to Senator Hooker regarding reduced educational funding at all levels. As a former educator, she recognizes the impact inadequate educational funding causes. Most recently the Vermont State Colleges were threatened with the closure of three of its five full-service campuses. Fortunately, due to citizen outrage and the support from legislators like Senator Hooker the closures did not happen. Our public educational system (pre-K-16) is one of Vermont’s shinning attributes.
To overcome Vermont’s aging demographics, we must encourage our most valuable resource, our children and young adults, to make Vermont their home. Vermont’s youth are our future and Senator Hooker has assured us that she will remain a champion for education, including financial support for our post-secondary public colleges; technical schools so that in-state tuition becomes affordable for all.
As State Senator, Cheryl has served on Justice Oversight, Economic Development, Housing-General Affairs, Institutions and Sexual Harassment committees. Her engagement in these many assignments reflect the broad and dedicated spectrum of her work in Montpelier on behalf of all Rutland County citizens. Senator Hooker sponsored bills to increase the minimum wage, provide paid family leave, protect victims of domestic violence from housing discrimination, limiting out-of-pocket expenses for insulin prescriptions and tuition free scholarships for Vermonters to CCV. For the reasons expressed in this endorsement, we ask that you cast your vote for Senator Cheryl Hooker.
Sincerely,
C. William Petrics
Catherine L. Petrics
Killington
