During a televised forum on education tonight, Mike McWherter, a Jackson businessman and candidate for governor, emphasized how his business experience gives him a unique and more practical perspective at governing than others in the race.

“I’m a businessman, not a politician,” said McWherter during the forum tonight. “A lot of the people talking about education today during this forum have had a chance to fix our schools and haven’t gotten the job done. It’s time for more than words.”

As a long-time member of the Tennessee Business Roundtable, McWherter added that the private sector can and should be more engaged in supporting our schools.

“To stay competitive in business, you have to be willing to embrace change and be open to bold, new ways of getting the job done,” McWherter said. “If we want real, effective education reform, we have to be open to new, innovative solutions. The status quo approach is simply not acceptable.”

McWherter also praised Gov. Phil Bredesen for initiating efforts to reform Tennessee’s public education
systems.

“The challenge now is to create jobs, and the key to that is education,” said McWherter in his closing remarks at the forum.

McWherter said his approach on education reform as Tennessee’s next governor would be “to fully fund the Basic Education Program, which helps rural school systems stay competitive with larger systems, to make certain our teachers are well paid and well trained, to have more discipline in classrooms, and to demand accountability and make sure parents know more about what’s going on in our schools.”

McWherter said he supports Bredesen’s efforts to secure additional federal funds through the national Race To The Top education program, and sees the current focus on education reform as “a window of opportunity to affect real change in how our schools prepare young people to compete for jobs in the new economy.”

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