Chattanooga attorney Melody Shekari, who is running to succeed longtime Rep. JoAnne Favors as State representative for the 28th District, is calling for a modern day Kirkman Technical School.
She said she believes that "providing good jobs with benefits is a critical issue for the families in thedistrict. Introducing legislation to create public/private partnerships will be one of my top priorities, if elected to serve the people of the 28th District."
She said, “For many years our community benefitted from having Kirkman High School, a technical and vocational school.
Thousands of people learned valuable trade skills that helped them to support their families. The time has come to create a new kind of Kirkman, a 21st Century Kirkman that will teach kids and adults the skills needed to succeed in today’s economy.
"The most successful models for this kind of training center involve partnerships between government, the business sector, and organized labor. Today, companies cannot fill all of the available skilled job openings, because there aren’t enough trained workers. A 21st Century Kirkman could teach kids during the day and adults during evenings and weekends. This new facility would be a true community school, providing job training and continuing education for people of all ages.
“By combining union apprentice programs with corporate support inside our public schools, we can be leaders in education innovation, economic development, and job creation. We’ve had enough talk. It’s time for action.”