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Growing up in Fairview and attending Buncombe County public schools (I graduated from AC Reynolds High School in 1986 --- Go Rockets!), I know first-hand that we are blessed with outstanding public schools.

I was lucky to have had so many dedicated teachers, staff, and administrators who cared deeply about their students and were passionate about education. They prepared me very well to compete against students from all over the country in college and law school; I was also fortunate to have caring and dedicated parents who supported me in so many different ways. They knew my teachers --- and if I misbehaved in school, my greatest fear was not the punishment I received at school. It was the punishment I got from my parents!

Many things have changed in the 20+ years since I was a public school student, but what hasn't changed is the dedication of our teachers and other school personnel to help every student succeed in life. The world economy is much more competitive today than it was two decades ago: our young people are now compete against students from all over the world, and our schools must be world-class if our community is to create the high paying jobs of the future.

We're fortunate to have two outstanding school systems in Buncombe County. When comparing end-of-grade tests and SAT scores, Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools rank near the top of all systems in North Carolina. More students in both Asheville City and Buncombe County high schools are taking Advanced Placement classes, which give students the opportunity to earn college credit by taking an exam at the end of the course (click here for a story in the Asheville Citizen-Times).

I'm impressed everyday by the talents of our young people: for those that take advantage of the opportunities available to them, there is no limit to what they can achieve.

Although Buncombe County's students this year outperformed both the rest of the state and the nation on SAT scores, we stll have much work to do. Too many of our students are not graduating --- and even for those that do, too many are unprepared for college or work. One dropout is too many and our dropout rate is close to the NC average. This means that over 1/3 of all students who begin the 9th grade fail to graduate.

There are not very many good jobs for a high school dropout, and the good jobs available to them are rapidly disappearing. And it is clear, from reviewing the statistics, that the more dropouts we have the more cost our taxpayers will incur for jails, human services, and lost potential.

We must focus our entire community on the goal of lifetime learning. It does not really matter what profession you choose, all of our workers must learn to change and adapt with the times. Althoug it is certainly very beneficial to obtain a four-year degree, we must realize too that earning an undergraduate degree is not a guarantee of future economic success. What will determine our success as individuals and a community is our capacity to constantly grow our skills.

I want every citizen of our community to reach their God-given potential. We must recognize that we all have different talents and our educational system must recognize those diverse talent as well; some can read a novel and write an essay, while some might be better at overhauling an engine. Neither talent is superior --- and our we need everyone to flourish.

Our schools are a reflection of our community, so their successes are our successes and their failures are our failures. Dropouts are not a high school problem, they are not a middle school problem, or even an elementary problem: they are a community problem. According to Bill Miliken, founder of Communities in School and author of The Last Droput, there are five basic needs that every child deserves:

• a one-on-one relationship with a caring adult;
• a safe place to learn and grow;
• a healthy start and a healthy future;
• a marketable skill to use upon graduation; and
• a chance to give back to peers and community.

I will work tirelessly to make sure that all of our citizens, regardless of their background, have these opportunities.

All of us make mistakes, but faith teaches us that God is a God of second chances. And while some of us will unfortunately never adequately take advantage of those second chances, I firmly believe that it's far better that we help people take care of themselves rather than forcing them into a life of dependency.

To meet the challenge to have world-class schools here in Buncombe County, I have consistently pushed for better pay and better opportunities for all of our school personnel.

Outside of a child's parents, no adult has more positive impact on our children as do our teachers. Teaching is among the most honorable --- but most difficult --- professions, and we need to provide our teachers with as much support as we can.

A starting teacher makes around $30,000 a year in Buncombe County. That's far less than a starting nurse, police officer, or machinist. We must remain competitive in this market so that we attract the best possible people to educate our kids; we must make it easier for those who don't have a teaching degree (but who have a passion for learning) to serve in our schools; and, we must improve discipline and reduce bureaucracy and paperwork so teachers can more effectively do their jobs.

As Chairman, I've supported the Graduation Initiative, a partnership with the Buncombe County Schools and the Eblen Kimmel Foundation. This unique program works individually with children who are at risk for dropping out, those who have missed too many days of school, and those who need community resources to stay in school.

I support the Mission Possible program and the Building Future Builders program which expose disadvantaged kids to careers in the healthcare and construction industries. Students can see first-hand how critical their education is to their future.

We must make vocational opportunities available at earlier ages, far beyond just 11th and 12th grades. Students need to understand all of the opportunites available at A-B Tech and how they can attend --- even if they might not have the abilitly to pay tuition.

Some other great efforts are the Communities in School program and America's Promise Alliance.

A-B Tech

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College ("A-B Tech") is among the country's highest rated schools of its kind. The county rightly invests significant resources into A-B Tech, and in many ways, A-B Tech is the most critical institution of learning in our community. Forty years ago, about 20% of the jobs required a four year degree and today that percentage is relatively unchanged. What is changing is that most of the other jobs require training beyond high school.

A-B Tech can fulfill that need for most of us. Interestingly, one of the fastest-growing groups of new students at A-B Tech are those who already have an undergraduate degree, but they want additional training to work at a higher-paying job.

A-B Tech trains our law enforcement officers, our paramedics, our nurses, our medical technicians, our information technology professionals, our machinists, our chefs, our electricians, our plumbers...the list is really endless. Your county taxes pay for most of the buildings on campus as well as a sizable part of their operating support. And in my view, it's money well-spent.

I'll continue to provide all of our citizens --- regardless of their position in life --- with the opportunities for a better education and thus a more sustainable future in a changing world.