Public Education
Public schools gave Gordon the foundation for a 45-year career. He believes every kid in this district deserves the same shot.
Opportunity starts with public schools
One of the greatest innovations the Founders gave the world was the idea that anyone could rise, given the opportunity, in a government controlled not by kings but by its citizens. That system has a basic requirement: every child must have a real chance to reach their potential. For Gordon, the strongest part of that system is strong public education. He attended public schools, and they gave him the foundation of a 45-year career and the chance to move up on merit, not on who his parents were or what class he was born into.
Public education under attack
Public education in America is under attack. Teachers are leaving the profession because they cannot afford to stay. That is not a teacher shortage, it is the predictable result of low salaries that push good people out of the communities that need them. The problem is national, but it is especially acute in District 8.
In Tennessee, the legislature is handing hundreds of millions of dollars to parents whose children were already in private schools, while public schools are told to make do with fewer teachers, outdated equipment, and aging facilities. Quite literally, the rich get richer.
The current administration now aims to cut federal education spending by nearly 5 billion dollars, including severe cuts to rural school programs and to American history and civics, two areas that need more investment, not less. (Source: Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2026/05/22/federal-2027-budget-aims-to-slash-education-spending-again/)
Gordon's plan
In a rapidly changing world, the country should invest more in public schools, not less. Gordon proposes a major increase in federal education spending, including significant investment in rural schools, real increases in teacher pay, and directing the Department of Education to send federal grants straight to school systems rather than through the states. That last step matters because Tennessee leaders have repeatedly explored rejecting more than 1 billion dollars a year in federal education funding, money the state's schools cannot afford to lose. (Source: WPLN News, https://wpln.org/post/report-rejecting-1-1b-annually-in-federal-education-funds-would-present-major-tradeoffs-for-tennessee/)
Public schools have been the backbone of the nation. Gordon will fight every attempt to defund and destroy them. That is what he will do as your Congressman.