A February 14 article by the Knoxville News Sentinel’sTom Humphrey provided a thorough summary of the gubernatorial candidates’ positions on education. The summary format, however, left a bit of confusion regarding Mayor Haslam’s position on charter schools. Mayor Haslam strongly supports charter schools because innovation and choice are vital components of a successful education system. He believes that the new charter schools law passed by the General Assembly last year was a victory for innovation and a step in the right direction, but the law did contain language the Mayor opposes. Mayor Haslam opposes restrictions such as the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in the state and restrictions on who can enroll in charter schools, and as governor will advocate for their removal. In fact, the Mayor’s education platform – released last October – calls for the development of a statewide charter school incubator to support the creation of high quality local charter schools.
To learn more about Mayor Haslam’s education priorities, please visit:
