Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is taking a rhetorical shot at one of President Obama’s possible election opponents, slamming the education system in Gov. Rick Perry’s home state of Texas.
“Far too few of their high school graduates are actually prepared to go on to college,” Duncan said on Bloomberg Television. “I feel very, very badly for the children there.”
“You have seen massive increases in class size,” Duncan also added. “You’ve seen cutbacks in funding. It doesn’t serve the children well. It doesn’t serve the state well. It doesn’t serve the state’s economy well. And ultimately it hurts the country.”
When asked for comment by Bloomberg News, Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner fired back.
“The president’s secretary of education may want to do a little more homework before commenting on education in Texas,” said Miner. “Under Governor Perry, Texas has been a national leader in adopting college and career-ready curriculum standards that will ensure Texas students graduate prepared to succeed in college and the workplace.”
Miner also added: “Texas continues to lead the country in job creation because companies know they can find educated and highly skilled workers here.”
