Five Democratic Party Gubernatorial Candidates to Debate Education Tonight

Burlington, Vt. – January 25, 2010 – Five Vermont gubernatorial candidates will participate in a panel discussion on statewide educational policy this evening on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt. The event, sponsored jointly by Castleton State College, Saint Michael’s College and UVM, will take place in the Davis Center’s Silver Maple Ballroom from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The discussion is intended to give the candidates a forum in which to share and debate their plans for leadership on topics ranging from pre-school quality, local school funding, amd consolidation to cost containment, paying for college, and other top educational issues facing the citizens and legislature.

Each of the participating candidates — to include Senate President Peter Shumlin, Windham County; Sen. Susan Bartlett, Lamoille County; Sen. Doug Racine, Chittenden County; former Sen. Matt Dunne, Windsor County; and Secretary of State Deb Markowitz — will respond to the following question: “As a candidate for governor, what issues do you identify as most important in order to assure the quality of education for all Vermont students, and how would you address them?”

Each candidate will be given 10 minutes to deliver their statement. Following these statements, panelists will have five minutes to respond to each others’ statements. The order for the delivery of their statements will be decided randomly. Delivery of the statements, responses and discussion will be moderated, and time permitting, questions will be taken from audience members.

The event will be moderated by Chris Graff, vice president for communications at National Life of Vermont and former long-time chief of the Vermont bureau of the Associated Press.

The panel discussion is free and open to the public. A reception in the Silver Maple Ballroom will follow at 8:30.

-Vermont Daily News report and UVM press release