Perdue Elected Chair of Southern Regional Education Board

Perdue Elected Chair of Southern Regional Education Board

Governor Perdue Outlines SREB Education Agenda

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue yesterday was elected chair of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) during its annual conference in Atlanta. In his acceptance remarks today, Governor Perdue outlined his agenda for the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

“I’m proud to serve as chair of the SREB. Since 1948, 16 states have been pulling together to advance education throughout the South,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “I’m a longtime supporter of SREB – when I was a state senator, we looked to SREB for insight into education policy, and I do the same as Governor.”

Governor Perdue outlined three broad educational challenges facing southern states. First, he pledged to focus on increasing graduation rates from high school through the statewide implementation of successful local initiatives. Second, Governor Perdue called for the development of standards among SREB member states to ensure college and career readiness is incorporated into high school curriculum. Lastly, given the considerable financial investment of most states in their university systems, Governor Perdue emphasized the importance of college completion among students.

Governor Perdue and SREB will highlight these initiatives through the development of a web-based scoreboard that will continue SREB’s tradition of relevant, high-quality data analysis. This scoreboard will provide citizens with a graphic snapshot of each state’s progress towards meeting the specific goals. Governor Perdue will also convene a high level workgroup of governors, legislators and chief state school officers to set specific targets and monitor progress. SREB’s 2006-2007 budget, which was adopted during the annual meeting, includes funding to support this work.

SREB is a nonprofit, nonpolitical organization, supported by appropriations from member states and by funds from private companies, foundations, and state and federal agencies.

Founded in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures, SREB advises state education leaders on ways to improve education. SREB’s 16 member states are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each state is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.

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