DuBose Porter made a stop in Mitchell County & conducted an Interview with the Camilla Enterprise

Reginals Garrard, managing editor of the Camilla Enterprise conducted this interview with Porter as Porter was campaigning down in SW Georgia, which included Mitchell County.

Here's a exerp:

The Camilla Enterprise/the Pelham Journal: What do you think are your unique qualifications for the office of Governor of Georgia?


Porter: The experience in the areas where I see our greatest need, which is in education and job training. I have chaired the education committee. I was Zell Miller’s floor leader [and] I introduced the Hope Scholarship and the Hope grant, and, most importantly, the pre-k program.

When I chaired education, I had a school in my district [143] that had some of the lowest reading scores in the entire state. I brought the team down from Georgia State [University] Education Department and the Andrew Young School of Public Policy. We gave the same teachers at that school the tools that they needed: we had smaller classrooms, gave the teachers supporting technology, and we had 100% parental participation. We turned that elementary school around in one year, allowing it to produce some of the highest reading scores in the state. It remains an A+ Title 1 school in reading and has been so for the last twelve years.



I will do that statewide.




The other part is in job training. I introduced what’s known as Post-Secondary Options. That’s where you jointly enroll 11th and 12th graders with your technical colleges. Students are able to graduate for high school with a skill, as well, to get a better job.


The state of Georgia has a 65% graduation rate; therefore, we have a 35% dropout rate. It’s been that way for a long time, since I chaired Education. Where I piloted the Post-Secondary Options, it went to a 95% graduation rate.


I feel that I have the best experience in getting that done. Teachers haven’t had the support of their governor in twelve years and I will fight for education and I can show them where they can get the money.


I introduced The Salary Protection Act. I introduced a bill to restore National Board certified teachers’ stipends as a means of encouraging our teachers to rise to national standards.


I will keep education a priority and that’s why I’m running.

This interview was conducted on May 3, so I was a little late coming with this.