Tennessee Economic Development Guide

Gov. Phil Bredesen’s administration has made education initiatives at every level - from pre-kindergarten to elementary and high schools to colleges and lifelong learning - a Job 1 priority for Tennessee.

For the second consecutive year, the governor has proposed devoting the largest portion of the state’s budget to pre-kindergarten, K-12 and higher education spending, more than $8.4 billion, or 30 percent of the state’s $27.9 billion budget for 2008-09.

“I believe that we have an obligation to provide every Tennessean with access to a quality education that will lead to a well-paying job and, ultimately, a high quality of life,” the governor says.

The commitment is paying dividends. The state has moved up to No. 16 in influential chronicle Education Week’s overall state rankings, which measured such factors as achievement, standards, teacher quality and finance. In the Education Alignment Policies category, which includes early learning, school readiness, college readiness and work readiness assessments, Tennessee ranked No. 1 among the 50 states.

The administration has launched a major education push on several fronts, including expanding pre-kindergarten programs, encouraging new reading initiatives and increasing teacher pay. In 2005, the state saw its average teacher pay exceed the Southeast U.S. average.

The quality of a state’s educational systems is a major consideration for company executives and site-selection consultants making multi-million-dollar decisions, says Matt Kisber, Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development commissioner.

“The most important aspect to a site-selection decision is knowing that educational system is producing the kind of skilled labor that that company needs, not just today, but in 10 or 20 years, over the life of that investment,” Kisber says.

An 80-page report released in December 2007 found that employers looking for high school graduates to fill entry-level jobs want candidates who possess not only basic math and verbal communication skills, but also problem-solving and teamwork abilities.

The report by the Tennessee Diploma Project, sponsored by the Tennessee Business Roundtable and the Hyde Family Foundations, resulted from statewide surveys of top business decision-makers as well
as six regional roundtable meetings that included Gov. Bredesen, state officials and executives from across Tennessee.

AutoZone founder and philanthropist Pitt Hyde, who participated in the roundtables, said continuous educational improvement is critical to closing income gaps, turning out productive members of society and attracting investment.

“Everyone benefits from a better-educated populace. It’s critical today and it will be more critical in the future,” says Hyde, who is now president of investment firm Pittco in Memphis and oversees the Hyde Family Foundations, which are involved in several education initiatives.

Hyde credited Gov. Bredesen and the administration for incorporating findings from the report as they re-write education standards for the state.

The governor’s 2008-09 budget also includes $29.3 million for an economic development jobs package that would, in part, fund training for companies looking to relocate or expand in Tennessee.

“We as a state absolutely must recognize the importance of a quality, long-term education to success, for individuals and for us all collectively,” the governor says.

One example of that commitment was seen in Humphreys County, where a 10,000-square-foot expansion of the Humphreys County Center for Higher Education was funded in part by a $1.15 million grant from the TDECD’s FastTrack Infrastructure Development Program and a $400,000 matching contribution from Humphreys County.

The expansion will house classrooms and lab space for a new associate’s degree in industrial process control technology.

The center is managed by Nashville State Community College, which began working with Humphreys County and industry officials several years ago to develop a program to meet the workforce needs of chemical processing plants in the region and attract new industry.

The center’s technology training is important to industry growth in the region, says Jennie Stribling, center director, and the partnership between Nashville State and the county is “a wonderful example of a local community working to develop their own higher education options.”