Local education summit Wednesday in Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, AL (WBRC) - A summit focusing on local education and the performance of the Tuscaloosa City and County Schools is scheduled for Wednesday at the Bryant Conference Center on The University of Alabama campus. A session that is free and open to the public begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Rast Room of the conference center.

Alabama Department of Education Interim Superintendent Dr. Phillip Cleveland and State Representative Bill Poole, who serves as House Ways and Means Education Committee Chair, will speak on education at the state level. The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama will also present data on the funding and performance of Tuscaloosa City and County Schools. PARCA is an independent research organization.

The summit is organized by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.  Chamber President and CEO Jim Page said the condition of local schools is highly relevant to local businesses.

"The business community is the number one consumer of the education product," Page said. "The kids that are in our public schools now, that's our future work force for business and industry, so we can't afford not to be involved."

Page also said even if someone does not have a child in the local school systems, they should still be interested in local education. Page said quality of local schools is an important driver of property values, job opportunity, business and industry recruitment and overall quality of life.

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