Ross highlights education at forum

FAYETTEVILLE - Education was the primary topic when Mike Ross, a Democratic candidate for governor, spoke to the Political Animals Club of Northwest Arkansas on Friday.

Too many Arkansas children can’t read at a thirdgrade level when they finish that grade, and too many students in the state fall behind in math and science, Ross told the crowd of about 150 having breakfast at the GuestHouse Inn in Fayetteville.

“From the time you’re born through the third grade, you’re learning to read,” said Ross. “Then from the fourth grade through the rest of your life, you’re reading to learn.”

Pupils who don’t learn toread by the end of third grade never catch up because they’re supposed to be reading to learn from that point on, he said.

Ross said jobs now and in the future will primarily be in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

About 12 million Americans are unemployed, but there are 3 million jobs in those four areas that are currently unfilled because the country lacks a skilled work force, Ross said.

When asked for specific solutions to these problems, Ross said he didn’t have them yet.

“I don’t have all the answers three weeks into the campaign,” Ross said. “I’m just telling you what I think some of the problems are.”

Will Simpson, a junior economics and finance major at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, then asked Ross about school vouchers and charter schools.

“You say you haven’t flushed out the real, specific policy plan yet, but I know that you have more ideas than just bumper stickers and general slogans,” Simpson said.

Simpson said two UA researchers had “published some pretty significant national literature” showing how vouchers and charter schools “drastically increase performance.”

“Are you open to any of that in Arkansas?” he asked Ross.

“No,” said Ross. “Anybody in this room, if you want to send your kids to private school, that’s your business,but don’t drain the resources from our public schools.”

Ross said Arkansas is still among the worst states in the country in the number of college students who drop out after the first year.

“The way we address that is we have to do more in K-12,” he said.

“We’ve got some really good, dedicated teachers out there,” said Ross. “They need to be able to have time to do more teaching and not so much paperwork, in my opinion, and we need some common sense applied to education.”

Ross, a native of Prescott, was a congressman representing Arkansas’ 4th District from 2001 until January. Ross now lives in Little Rock.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 18 on 05/11/2013

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