Gene Wu

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Survey Responses

HAS NOT RESPONDED TO THE 2026 CANDIDATE SURVEY.

Did not respond to the 2024, 2022, 2020 or 2018 ATPE Candidate Survey. 

Below are the candidate's reponse to our 2016 survey.

1. Is there a need to increase funding in order to meet the needs of our growing student population and ensure that students have access to high-quality teachers? If so, how would you recommend securing more revenue for public education?

A - Yes. We need to return to at least pre-2008 funding levels corrected for inflation. B - How about we stop giving away the farm to special interests or making political promises that we can't keep.

 

2. On what types of programs or specific areas of need would you prioritize the spending of state funds for public education?

Pre-K & Teacher pay and training.

 

3. Would you vote to create a voucher, tax credit, grant, scholarship program, or any other type of incentive that would help cover the cost for students to attend non-public schools in grades K-12? Why or why not?

hell no - because our schools are poorly funded as is

 

4. Would you vote to maintain a hard cap on the number of students per class, or should school administrators be given more flexibility to increase class sizes? (Currently, the law imposes a cap of 22:1 in grades K-4 but allows schools to obtain a waiver, a step a number of them routinely take.)

I would prefer to have a hard cap without waivers, but realize that may not be possible.

 

5. What do you feel is the proper role of standardized testing in Texas's public education system? For instance, should tests be used for school accountability purposes, for evaluating teachers, for measuring the progress of students, etc.?

Measuring student progress only

 

6. Local decisions on teacher pay and whether to continue a teacher's employment are often based on evaluations. To what extent, if any, should a teacher's evaluation be based on his students' scores on state standardized tests? If you believe student test scores should factor into a teacher's evaluation, how would you recommend evaluating teachers in grades or subjects for which there are no state standardized tests?

The only point where student's scores should matter is whether the students are growing. I would ask teachers and educators to come up with the proper evaluation.

 

7. Do you believe that the state should maintain a floor for classroom teacher salaries that includes annual increases based on experience over the first 20 years of a teacher's career?

Yes.

 

8. If a public school in your district failed to meet state accountability standards, what course of action would you recommend? Are there circumstances in which you would support allowing a private entity to take over the management of that school (for instance, by converting it to a charter school, placing it under a special statewide district for low-performing schools, replacing the elected school board, or hiring an outside entity to operate the school)?

I don't support any of those measures, except in the most extreme circumstances.

 

9. The cost of health insurance for active educators has dramatically increased over the last decade, while the portion paid by the state has remained flat and significantly lagged behind that of private employers. How would you address the increasing cost of covering the education workforce's health insurance needs?

I believe that a fair compensation package is necessary to attract the proper talent to teaching.

 

10. Do you believe the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) should be maintained as a traditional defined benefit pension plan for all future, current, and retired educators, or would you vote to convert TRS to a defined contribution plan that is more like a 401(k), in which future benefits are not guaranteed? Why?

Defined benefit - so we dont screw over teachers.