Democratic Candidates' Round Table June 14 @ UTC

Next week there will be a special forum for Democratic candidates to discuss education, one of the key elements of my campaign.  This will be on June 14, at 7:00 PM and will be held in the UTC Fine Arts Building, Room 356.  The Round Table is sponsored by the UTC Political Science Department and the Hamilton County Democratic Party.

One of the issues I hope will get some attention is the fact that our state legislature has not shown the courage to properly fund higher education.  It has been too easy for the General Assembly to pass on the increased costs of education to the students and their families through tuition increases.  

My opponent led the charge to cut $16 million dollars from higher education in the budget they passed, that will pretty much guarantee a 6 percent or better tuition increase for our students this Fall.  Additionally, the Republican majority tried to cut lottery scholarships for 5,257 through the HOPE Lottery Scholarships - even though the Lottery program is sitting on a significant surplus.

Please plan on attending this important Candidates' Round Table on Education on June 14. 

(Editorial cartoon from Clay Bennett,  www.claybennett.com)