Beth Harwell speaks to members of the Chattanooga Rotary Club
photo by Claire Henley
Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell told members of the Chattanooga Rotary Club on Thursday that she is proud of the fact that Tennessee has a balanced budget.
She noted that many other states, such as California and Pennsylvania, are in debt.
Tennessee has the lowest state debt in the nation, Speaker Harwell said.
She turned her attention to Tennessee’s reformed pension program by stating Tennessee is one of five states that fully funds the pension program.
Regarding employment, Speaker Harwell asserted that 7,000 new jobs were created in Tennessee over the past year.
“We want you to be free to create jobs…We understand in the state of Tennessee that ‘profit’ is not a dirty word,” she said.
On the topic of education, Speaker Harwell discussed the need for increased accountability in the state's schools by better preparing students for the workforce.
Concerning the students she said, “We got to get them ready for the workforce, and right now we’re not quite doing it.”
Specifically, the education system needs to implement programs that will increase students’ technical skills, as technical jobs are those of the future, according to Speaker Harwell.
She said Tennessee is the fastest improving state in the nation for education.