The accountability standards are a system in which all students in third, fifth, and eighth grades, as well as high school graduates, must pass a series of reading, mathematics and writing requirements to pass on to the next grade. The changing economy needs qualified workers, and prospective and existing businesses can't function without them. We have to make sure as many of our young people avail themselves to the opportunities that are here and will be here. Jim Barnette, member of the Executive Roundtable and former plant manager at ABB Combustion Engineering now in private consulting work, said that the problem is not the students who are going off to college, but the young adults who remain and are looking for work. He said the idea of forming the education study committee was to find a way to get businesses and the schools working together, for the benefit of all.
Businesses have to spend money on training new employees who want jobs.
This is a reflection of what the needs of industry are. Barnette said all three systems produce fine students, but he said the idea is to better find a solution to serving the needs of the community. Barnette brought up the issue on Nov. 2 at a meeting of the Education Study Committee, a group comprised of local business and school leaders, that maybe the County Commission should assess the organization of education in the county. That discussion immediately led to talk among the group about merger. Barnette said an investment in students is an investment in business.