Charter schools are something the state should explore, but their performance needs to be evaluated before going forward, Democratic gubernatorial Mike McWherter said here Wednesday morning.
"What I would like to do is see that number (of charter schools already authorized) get fulfilled and then measure our charter schools' academic performance against our public schools and then decide where we go from there, if we do more charter schools or less," the Jackson, Tenn., businessman said during a visit to Ivy Academy, one of two charter schools in Chattanooga.
"As I travel around the state, education is a big component of what I'm talking about on how to move this state forward and create jobs," he said. "And charter schools are part of that as well as public schools. "
Mr. McWherter, whose attire inclued a blue button-down shirt with no tie and a sports coat, toured the portable buildings talking to students and shaking their hands.
"Ask your parents to vote for me," he told each one of them.
Marie Daly, Ivy Academy's founder and executive director, said she appreciated the fact that Mr. McWherter took the time to listen to the staff.
"I do think we need some global changes in education, and I want to make sure those changes are happening in the upper grades as well as the lower grades," she said.
But actions are needed now, she added.
Rachel Taylor, spokeswoman for Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, said the problem with Mr. McWherter's wait-and-see approach is that children can't afford it.
"Charter schools are not a new idea. They have proven their effectiveness for particularly low-income students all over the country," she wrote in an e-mail.
U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said charter school options should be expanded to allow innovations in all systems.
"If there are educational success models that work, and often at lower cost, we must aggressively encourage them all across Tennessee," he said in an e-mail.
Knoxville Mayor and Republican candidate Bill Haslam in April toured the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, Chattanooga's other charter school.
"(Mr. Haslam) strongly supports charter schools and will work to increase the number of high-quality charter schools in the state," campaign spokesman David Smith wrote in an e-mail.
"He supports removing the restrictions on the number of charter schools allowed in Tennessee and the removal of restrictions on who can enroll in those schools," Mr. Smith added.