special section:
Karl Dean
Thank you for taking the time to share with our
educators today. On behalf of our members, I would
like to say we are grateful you are offering yourself
for Governor. Please share with educators a little about
who you are, and why you are running for Governor.
I am running for governor because I believe Tennessee’s best
days are still ahead of us, but to get there we need to focus
on the basic building blocks including public education,
economic development and access to affordable healthcare
to ensure a successful future for all Tennessee families.
I was Mayor of Nashville from 2007-2015, prior to which I
served as Nashville’s Law Director and Public Defender.
I moved to Nashville in 1978 to attend Vanderbilt Law
School, where I met my wife Anne. We have three grown
children, and just this past Valentine’s Day welcomed our
first grandchild.
We made quite a few changes in public education in
Tennessee the last decade - some necessary, some
debatable. What are we doing right?
We are clearly doing something right, as shown by our
NAEP scores establishing Tennessee as the fastest improving
state in the country. I believe much of that success comes
from our dedication to higher standards for students and to
an increased focus on teacher and principal development.
The recent budget increases in education are also a definite
step in the right direction and one that I have pledged to
continue. Higher teacher pay will help us keep our best
and brightest teachers in the classroom, transforming the
lives of our youth. One example of a recent decision that
will continue to reap benefits for Tennessee students is
the state’s commitment to paying for high school seniors
to retake the ACT. Historically, Tennessee students improve
their composite ACT score by 1-3 points when they are
afforded a second chance to take the test. Higher ACT
scores enable our students to access quality post-secondary
options through scholarships, such as the HOPE scholarship,
and also provide them with the opportunity to enter college
without taking remedial courses, allowing them a much
better chance of post-secondary success. I wholeheartedly
support efforts like this, which commit state funds in a way
that directly benefits student outcomes.
In your opinion, what are the top 3 challenges still
facing education in Tennessee?
The top three challenges facing education in Tennessee today
are (1) insufficient funding, (2) a persistent opportunity gap
for our most at-risk students and (3) teacher and principal
recruitment and retention challenges.
What are the steps that the state and local districts
need to take to address the challenges you identified?
What impact will that have on classroom teachers?
As Mayor of Nashville, I made education my top priority,
increasing the funding for Nashville schools by 37% and
invested approximately $629 million in school buildings
and other capital improvements across the school district.
This is the sort of commitment we need at the state level,
and Governor Haslam’s recent budget increases are
a strong building block for that investment. The state
needs to continue to increase education funding, to bring
Tennessee to a place where lack of resources is no longer
a barrier to student success or to teacher retention and
recruitment. Districts need to do their part by making sure
they are making smart fiscal decisions and are focusing