Kaine says he would ‘definitely’ have run again if allowed

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine told Virginia Board of Education members this morning that if he could run for governor again that he “definitely” would have and continue his efforts to improve education for the state’s 1 million-plus students.

Kaine met with board members at the beginning of their monthly meeting to talk about the panel’s work during his term, including improving graduation rates, expanding pre-K and creating career and academic plans starting with every seventh-grader.

Pre-K and the career and academic plans, which will outline the student’s program of study for high school and align it with a career path or college, were among Kaine’s education priorities.

If Virginia did not bar governors from serving consecutive terms, “I would have basically just tried to continue the expansion of pre K,“ he said.

The number of children in pre-K classes has expanded by nearly 40 percent, he said, but added, “I wanted to do so much more than that.“

Board member Eleanor B. Saslaw, told Kaine that support of early childhood education “has been one of the revolutions of this administration.“

“I appreciate your focus very very much and I think there will be long-term results from this effort,“ she said.

Kaine also commended the board for the state’s efforts toward offering a more personalized education for students, for example, by using technology to increase specialized programs and adding career and technical high school diplomas.