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MADISON COUNTY LEADERSHIP JOINS GOVERNOR BREDESEN DISCUSSES "SCHOOLS FIRST" INITIATIVE HUNDREDS TURN OUT FOR TOWN HALL MEETING IN JACKSON
Governor Bredesen discussed his "Schools First" education initiative with educators, parents, students, business leaders and elected officials during a town hall meeting on Thursday at the Jackson-Madison County Library. In the Governor's proposal, Madison County will receive $2.28 million in additional annual funding for important education needs. The Governor's "Schools First" initiative calls for a 40-cent increase in the cigarette tax to fund critical - but currently unmet - needs in public education. The revenue generated will be invested directly into classrooms statewide. "We all know how important a quality education is to our children, and everything I'm hearing from local officials is that we need these funds. Educating our children and putting schools first is important work. As long as I'm governor, it will be Tennessee's No. 1 priority," said Bredesen. Approximately $219 million in new education money would be generated through Bredesen's proposal. The largest portion, $120 million, would be used to fulfill the state's share of funding for systems with large numbers of "at risk" students - freeing up local dollars for investments in other key areas, including advanced placement courses, arts and music, and the like. Another $27 million would be used to address the needs of schools with high student growth, while the remainder would go toward ameliorating the increased cost of higher education for Tennessee families, as well as agriculture and anti-smoking programs. "I think the Schools First funding is essential," said State Representative Johnny Shaw. "Education has to be at the top of the list if Tennessee is going to move to another level as the Governor expressed in his State of the State. Madison County will receive right at $2 million plus if we pass the cigarette tax, so it would be hard for me to come home and explain to the school board why I didn't bring them this additional money for the at-risk students. I am all in favor for what the Governor is working towards." "I applaud our Governor for doing such a great job at putting education first in Tennessee, which I think is a top priority in Tennessee because you have to have an educated workforce out here to recruit the industries and jobs for our state," said State Representative Jimmy Eldridge. I am fully supportive of the Governors Schools First Program." In addition to funding important education needs, the Governor's "Schools First" plan also focuses on raising standards and expectations for students - particularly in Tennessee's high schools. Bredesen's proposal for increased standards is based on three key principles:
"We are very grateful to the Governor for this initiative," said Madison County Assistant School Superintendent Pam Finney. "We have a growing at-risk population in our county and could put this money to very good use. There are always needs to be addressed, particularly in schools where there is a high population of at-risk students. We are thankful to the Governor for this initiative - he has certainly been a supporter of education." For more information about the "Schools
First" initiative, please visit
www.tnschoolsfirst.com.
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