Local employers often complain about the lack of skilled workers and look to our schools to find solutions. We assembled some top educators in Manatee and Sarasota counties in a virtual roundtable to ask them about the state of education in our region. Our panel includes Dr. Roger Dearing, Manatee County Schools superintendent; Dr. Gordon Michalson, president of New College of Florida; Dr. Gary Norris, Sarasota County Schools superintendent; Dr. Sarah Pappas, president of Manatee Community College; Dr. Laurey Stryker, CEO of University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee; and Dr. Larry Thompson, president of Ringling School of Art and Design. Here are some edited comments from their e-mail discussion.

Florida ranks near the bottom in national surveys of graduation rates and per capita funding of public education. What's wrong with our system?

Dr. Gordon Michalson: Large class size, low teacher salaries, the difficulties in recruiting and retaining the best possible teachers, and the frequent reliance on portables. The low high school graduation rate should be of great concern, and it's even lower for certain minority populations.

Dr. Sarah Pappas: Your first statement is incorrect as it pertains to Florida's community colleges. Our community college system has the highest graduation rate in the Southern Region Educational Board, and MCC is the highest in the state.

Dr. Laurey Stryker: We suffer from the state's reputation, but locally, we overcome much of the criticism.

Dr. Gary Norris: The additional operating dollars from the March 2000 referendum have allowed Sarasota County to maintain a first-rate school system that is not fully dependent upon state funds, which

have not kept up with inflation or growth in student population. Funds are also being siphoned from the public schools by way of vouchers to private schools and the expansion of charter schools, and [the increasing numbers of non-English-speaking students] require additional support. And instead of accepting the old bell curve approach, schools are expected to have each child reach the proficient or "B" level, hence the phrase " leaving no child behind." This was necessary because almost no low-skilled jobs remain in our economy. Nevertheless, it will require Herculean effort on the part of educators to move all children to a proficient level.

How would you characterize the quality of secondary education in Sarasota/Manatee?

Stryker: Far better than most districts in Florida, but still lagging behind many parts of the nation.

Pappas: In a statewide comparison, our school systems are both in the top 10 out of 67 Florida school systems. However, Florida is 44th out of the 50 states when measuring "chance for college by age 19."

Thompson: We have been very impressed with the quality of art education in the high schools in this area as reflected in the quality of their portfolios.

Norris: Sarasota County public schools have a well-deserved reputation for providing an excellent education for college-bound students but are struggling with meeting individual student needs in large, comprehensive high schools. In addition, the School Board realizes the need to strengthen the vocational/technical areas.

A recent study concluded that Manatee and Sarasota counties may see a shortfall of 15,000 workers by the end of the decade and recommended that the two counties attract and produce "knowledge-based" jobs. Are you training students for such jobs?

Stryker: USF is a major player. But we are out of room on our campus and need to expand our facilities, programs and faculty to accommodate our growth.

Pappas: We respond to local requests in starting new career programs, such as the new information technology security program and the three-year-old dental hygiene program. The job placement rate of our graduates with A.S. and A.A.S. degrees is 98 percent. MCC also contributes to workforce training through our Corporate and Community Development division.

Michalson: What I call the "practical impracticality" of a liberal arts education translates into aptitudes and skills that prepare students for multiple career opportunities and, more importantly, the inevitable career changes people will face in the 21st century. Keep in mind the perennially high percentage of leaders of "Fortune 500" companies who are products of small liberal arts and sciences institutions.

Thompson: Our problem is there are not very many knowledge-based visual arts jobs in this area. Most of our graduates leave this area to be employed.

Dearing: We are on track for a new facility for Manatee Technical Institute whose mission is to exceed the demands of the local workforce. We offer great career and technical education programs in our middle and high schools. In addition, high school students can dual enroll at MTI at no cost.