Ed Emery: I want to be on the Education Committee

Bad news for teachers and students in the state of Missouri- newly-elected Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, says he wants to be appointed to the Senate Education Committee, according to a story in the Nevada Daily Mail.

Representing the 31st Senate District in Barton, Bates, Cass, Henry and Vernon counties, Emery's top issue is education. "I will work on some education reform issues that I think are crucial to the future," he said Thursday."We need to get our students' test scores up, dropout rates down and parents more involved. I'll look at states like Louisiana, Florida, Indiana and Massachusetts, which have had effective reforms and are seeing real success. I'll seek appointment to the Education Committee."

Though that sounds rather benign, those who have followed Emery's political career knows that he is no friend of public education.

In the accompanying video, Emery talks about how he believes public education is "slavery and a pipeline to prison."

Most of his campaign contributions came from sources who have not been friends to public education in the past. In his hard-fought primary win, he received $280,000 of the $321,000 he raised either from the Humphreys family of Joplin's TAMKO or from retired billionaire Rex Sinquefield.