Governor Robert Bentley doesn’t have many allies in the Alabama Legislature these days, though he may have alienated himself further by throwing jabs at the state’s entire education system.
“Our education system in this state sucks,” Gov. Bentley told attendees of the annual Alabama Association of Regional Councils Conference on Wednesday.
“I don’t use that term very much but I want to tell you this, when we are 51st on our NAEP scores in 4th-grade math in this state, that’s pretty sad and it’s intolerable,” he went on to say.
While some in the audience reportedly laughed at the comments, other state officials haven’t found the remarks to be so funny. The governor is now receiving strong reactions from lawmakers, who say Bentley was out of line.
Representative Terry Collins (R- Decatur) chairs the House Education Policy Committee. She said in a statement that she believes there are “pockets of excellence” in schools across the state, while also acknowledging that some systems need improvement.
“To simply say everything sucks, to me, is not a good representation of the excellence that we have in some places,” she said.
Others, like State Rep. David Standridge (R- Hayden) were more harsh.
“Most of Alabama’s teachers love their students, work hard at their jobs, and are taking money out of their own pockets to better equip their classrooms,” Rep. Standridge said. “Many Alabama students want to work hard and do better for themselves and their families and they aspire to realize the American dream. For Governor Bentley to disrespect both teachers and students with foul language, language which would be unacceptable in the same schools he is demeaning, is unbecoming of the Office of the Governor of Alabama. Accordingly, I am calling on Governor Robert Bentley to immediately retract his statement and to apologize to the educators and students of this state.”
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