LAWRENCEBURG, TN — Independent candidate for Tennessee governor Lauren Pinkston is scheduled to visit Lawrenceburg Thursday for a public question-and-answer session focused on education.
The event, called “Lawrence County Talks with Teachers and Friends,” will be held Thursday, August 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Co-Work Coffee, located at 130 N. Locust Avenue. The gathering is being hosted by local teachers who support Pinkston’s campaign and is open to educators, school employees, parents and other community members. Pinkston’s campaign website confirms the Lawrenceburg event and location.
Pinkston, a former classroom teacher, is one of the independent candidates who qualified for Tennessee’s November 3 gubernatorial election.
According to information released by her campaign, Thursday’s discussion is expected to address teacher recruitment and retention, state testing requirements, classroom resources, student needs and the impact of state education policies on rural school systems.
Pinkston has said she wants teachers to have a greater role in the development of education policy at the state level.
“Teachers understand what their students need because they work alongside them every day,” Pinkston said in announcing the event. “Tennessee should not develop education policy around teachers. We should develop it with them.”
Pinkston’s campaign platform includes proposals to increase teacher input in state policymaking, make changes to benchmark testing, expand career and technical education opportunities and provide public schools with greater flexibility in addressing local student needs. Those proposals represent positions being advanced by Pinkston as part of her gubernatorial campaign.
The Lawrenceburg event comes less than a week after Tennessee’s August 6 primary election. Republican Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Jerri Green won their respective party nominations and will appear on the November ballot along with qualified independent candidates, including Pinkston.
The event is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Co-Work Coffee in Lawrenceburg. Members of the public and news media may attend.
