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Karl Dean on Education
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Expand access to vocational training programs
Most of Tennessee's fastest growing industries and occupations require some type of postsecondary education or training. Karl supports Tennessee's current focus on increasing the number of college graduates.
In fact, as mayor, he created public-private support for free access to community college in Nashville before Tennessee Promise was implemented statewide.
However, Karl also knows that college isn't the right fit for every high school graduate.
As governor, he will work to expand access to vocational training programs across Tennessee, and he will work to align them with the industries and jobs that are growing in our state.
Source: 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial campaign website KarlDean.com
, Mar 21, 2018
Increase teacher pay; more resources for schools
Karl has pledged to make public education his top priority as governor. He made the same commitment as Mayor of Nashville and fulfilled it through every operating and capital budget he proposed. During his eight years in the mayor's office, he worked
with the Metro Council to increase funding for Nashville schools by an astounding 37 percent and invested $629 million in school buildings and other capital infrastructure for the school district. The graduation rate increased, the dropout rate
went down and test scores improved.As governor, Karl will do the same for the state. He will make education a funding priority every year he is in office with specific emphasis on:-
increasing teacher pay
- investing in high quality early childhood education
- expanding afterschool program opportunities
- ensuring all school districts get the resources they need
Source: 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial campaign website KarlDean.com
, Mar 21, 2018
Supports charters; opposes vouchers
While Karl believes in school choice, he opposes the use of for-profit charter schools and vouchers. Private school vouchers would allow taxpayer dollars to fund private schools, taking money directly away from Tennessee public schools.
And while many nonprofit charters are among the highest performing schools in the urban school districts of Memphis and Nashville,
Karl believes charters with a profit motive can't focus on doing what's best for their students. Karl believes nonprofit charter schools have a role to play in large urban districts, but they're not a silver bullet.
However, he believes rural areas do not have large enough student populations for charter schools to be an effective tool.
Source: 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial campaign website KarlDean.com
, Mar 21, 2018
Small city property tax increase to directed to education
In a video, the Republican Governors Association [showed Dean saying that he raised property taxes but] did not include Dean's entire commentary on taxes. Dean went on to say that he was perhaps the first Metro mayor who did not raise taxes during his
first term and that he opted to raise property taxes during his second term for "a variety of reasons.""No. 1, you've got to run the city and you've got to make sure that you're taking care of the services that are needed by the citizens,"
Dean told reporters. "And that tax increase was directed largely to education."
Dean, in his statement, said despite a "small property tax increase" during his second term, Metro's property tax rate was still lower when he left the mayor's
office than when he arrived. "This was because we saw property values grow significantly and by state law, tax rates have to go down to adjust for an increase in assessed values," Dean said.
Source: The Tennessean on 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial race
, Apr 25, 2017
Supports publicly financed, privately led charter schools
Dean has a challenge to unite his party before getting a chance to deploy his statewide strategy. Although considered a popular mayor, Dean sometimes butted heads with Democrats over his support of publicly financed, privately led charter schools.
He's also not allied with labor unions, a key Democratic constituency. He instead has closer ties to the business community and Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Source: The Tennessean on 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial race
, Feb 26, 2017
Expand school choice teacher accountability
Dean called public education "the major civil rights issue of our time" and his top priority. He said he wants to build off the work of Tennessee's "two pro-education governors," Bredesen and Haslam.
Both men supported education reforms that included expanding school choice and controversial accountability measures for teachers. Tennessee should be known as a place, Dean said, where you want to move to because of the education.
Source: The Tennessean on 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial race
, Feb 26, 2017
Charters ok if non-profit, but vouchers not ok
Though known for his support of charter schools, Dean said his education approach might look different as governor than as a mayor of a large urban city. He also said he opposes vouchers that would divert public funds to private schools
and opposes for-profit charter schools."I think what my record as mayor of Nashville speaks to is that when I say education will be a priority, it will be a priority," he said.
Source: The Tennessean on 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial race
, Feb 26, 2017
Page last updated: Jun 24, 2018