Emphasizing education, FHS grad Johnson runs for state senate

A special education teacher in Knox County for 24 years and chair of Knox County Democratic Party since 2009, Gloria Johnson has come a long way since being voted ?Class Clown? by students in her Farragut High School Class of 1980.

?We were called ?The Wild and Crazy Class of ?80,?? said Johnson, the lone Democrat running for District 6 state senate seat.

In addition to her staunch support of education spending, Johnson said she would ?support a bill to remove the sales tax on groceries or a bill that lowers the tax on groceries and increases funds for need-based scholarships and tuitions for colleges, similar to the Tennessee Tax Payer Relief Act put forth by [state] Representative Craig Fitzhugh.?

To make up the difference from reduced grocery tax revenue, ?There is about $350 million in tax giveaways, really, in the Tennessee Tax Code, and there are a lot of things we can look at to make up that difference,? Johnson said.

Waiting to face the survivor of three GOP primary contenders ? Marilyn Roddy, Victoria DeFreese or Becky Duncan Massey ? in the Tuesday, Nov. 8, general election, Johnson said the General Assembly?s last legislative session ?was not a successful one for education,? as the Republican-dominated body adopted legislation expanding tenure from three to five years, while doing away with teacher union negotiations.

?It really did a lot of damage as far as teacher morale, and it didn?t do anything to boost student performance,? she added. ?You don?t attack and demoralize teachers when you should be motivating and energizing them.

?We need leaders who understand that the best way to keep jobs in Tennessee is to educate our children well and partner with local businesses to make sure our colleges and technical schools prepare workers for jobs in the global economy.?

With Tennessee receiving roughly $500 in Race to the Top federal money for education during the next four years, Johnson said, ?I think, to be quite honest, you need somebody who has experience in education where you?re writing that sort of legislation.?

In reference to DeFreese, Roddy and Massey, ?I wasn?t hearing any ideas and any issues discussed,? Johnson said about her motivation to run, announced in mid-August.

Johnson promised to fight education budget cuts.

?You don?t cut education when the unemployment rate for workers with a college degree is half the unemployment rate for those without one ? when eight out of ten new jobs will require retraining or a higher degree by the end of the decade ? when you know that countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow,? she said.

Source: http://www.farragutpress.com/articles/2011/09/14585.html