The four candidates for Georgia school superintendent all agreed Tuesday night that teachers need to be appreciated more, the state’s graduation rate needs to be improved and public education should be a higher priority.
But they offered different plans on how to accomplish those goals.
Republican Richard L. Woods, a longtime educator from Irwin County, said the state Department of Education should be audited to make sure its spending priorities align with what the state needs. His GOP opponent, Mike Buck, the chief academic officer at the department, touted work already underway.
Democrat Valarie Wilson, former chairwoman of the City Schools of Decatur school board, said the key is state funding — as in more of it. Her opponent, state Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan, D-Austell, said parents need to be empowered more to make decisions that suit the individual needs of their children.
Tuesday’s forum, held at the John Marshall School of Law and sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, gave voters a glimpse into the views of the candidates in advance of the July 22 runoff.
Wilson got the most votes among Democrats in a crowded field during the May 20 primary and will square off against Morgan, who came in second. Buck got the most votes on the GOP side and faces second-place finisher Woods.
The runoff winners will face each other in November’s general election.
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