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DENNIS WICKERLT. GOVERNOR1992WICKER  ON  EDUCATIONState House Majority Leader Dennis Wicker is a product of the Lee County public schools, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a graduate of Wake Forest University Law School, and a former trustee of Central Carolina Community College.Representative Wicker has long been an acknowledged leader in legislative efforts to improve North Carolina's elementary and secondary education systems, renew the state's commitment to 

our 58 community colleges, and continue the kind of support that will enable our university system to maintain its premier national status.Representative Wicker believes that an activist Lieutenant Governor has a unique opportunity to have a major impact on educational process in North Carolina. In the area of elementary and secondary education, the Lieutenant Governor can play an especially crucial role as the leading elected official on the State Board of Education. In his work on the State Board of Educ

ation, and as President of the state Senate, Lieutenant Governor Wicker will push for such elementary and secondary education initiatives as:*   funding the Basic Education Plan (BEP) and realizing its goal of bringing all North Carolina school systems up to curriculum and other educational standards;*   implementing and refining the School Improvement and Accountability Act (Senate Bill 2) so that the Act can fulfill its twin goals of (i) encouraging more diversity along with result-oriented accountabilit

y in our public schools and (ii) giving teachers and parents more involvement in school planning and decision-making;*   placement of pre-kindergarten child development programs at the top of the state's legislative agenda;*   completed phase-in of the Teacher Salary Schedule as the next step in the ultimate goal of pushing the salaries of North Carolina teachers above the national median; and*   encouraging such innovative job-related training programs as "Tech Prep" for high school students.The Lieutenan

t Governor also serves as the leading elected official on the State Board of Community Colleges. In the General Assembly, Representative Wicker has been the most determined advocate of our community colleges' critical role in training our workforce and providing economic opportunity for all our citizens. As Lieutenant Governor, he plans to continue his emphasis on our community colleges' importance to the state's economic future.Representative Wicker knows that our community college system is often praised

 for being the first in the nation and serving a larger percentage of residents than any other in the nation. But he knows that the state's leadership must pay more serious attention to the status of our community colleges and their ability to train the skilled work-force of the future.At the top of Lieutenant Governor Wicker's agenda will be implementation of the special Community College Commission's Competitive Edge blueprint for upgrading our community colleges' teaching of technical and vocational ski

lls. He is committed to maintaining an "open door" admissions policy so that high school graduates have the opportunity for higher education.As Lieutenant Governor, Dennis Wicker also plans to be a prime spokesperson and salesperson for North Carolina's industry, agriculture, and quality of life. The teaching  and research capabilities of our prestigious university system have proven to be strong engines of economic growth for the state. Moreover, the rest of the nation rightly sees our prestigious univers

ity system as an impressive symbol of North Carolina's commitment to an outstanding quality of life for its citizens. Representative Wicker knows that North Carolina can continue to progress only if our university system keeps pace with its top rivals across the nation.In these tough budgetary times, Representative Wicker believes that each university campus must receive the proper incentives and management flexibility to use its educational resources in the most creative and effective fashions. As Lieuten

ant Governor, his goal will be to ensure that each university campus has the capacity to accentuate its distinctive strengths and provide a top-quality education for its students.