policy. and school safety proposals after the recent school shooting parkland, florida. this is just under an hour. >> we're excited today to be kicking off national governor's association weekend. governors will be here for a couple of days, including going to the white house and we're to be kicking it off with a conversation about that ion, something touches home to so many people. i would like to thank the 74 and foundation forly making this conversation possible, thank the events team for pulling off some amazing space and all of you for coming morning.is early we'll be covering a little bit about k through 12. about how be talking to help older students prepare for the future, and we'll be camera and the talking to the governors about the big issues in their states. be talking first with governor roy cooper of north carolina, who is a year into it had a proposal very relevant to what we're doing. -- who isovernor john at the end, just gave his final address, and tate governor jeff collier of kansas, office.n who just took so we have the full life-span of our governors here. we hope that you will along with #360. and we appreciate you reading which will make you smarter on the topics that matter most to you. we welcome the governor of north carolina. coming.k you so much for [applause] >> my family are constituents. the peak of good living. >> the peak of good living, my rother spot is here with his wife, sheri, and his son evan is --e, who you just > i'm dreaming of oatmeal, brown sugar and bananas. >> while you are here that will probably happen. this is the beginning of the national governors association weekend. here are so many rituals that go along with that for governors, for the press and for the staff. you get used to your nga meetings, you said there is a little north carolina comes to mind. >> barney says go, go, go. is.t's what this we're excited about being here and to talk with you about education, which is i think one if not the most important function, of state government. last week, governor, i was telling our guests here, you announcement.d one part having to do with early one of d education, and goals that you have is reaching more at risk 4-year-olds. how do we do that? at the , when you look education spectrum, connecting usinesses with people with the skills they need, in early childhood, they are tied together. -- whoson that we hav have c.e.o.s arguing for early pre--k od education and because the data is overwhelming that kids who get pre-k and childhood do significantly better in school and in their anecdotally, i go into a lot of schools. -- i try toalk to a talk to a kindergarten teacher, can you tell the difference who has had pre-k and who hasn't and they will roll their eyes and say, of they will talk about kids who hasn't even hold a pencil, don't know their numbers letters versus other kids who are very prepared to come into school. we have technology executives come into the north carolina general assembly funding for pre-k, you know that it matters at the end of the day. and i'm very grateful for the fact that general assembly was ed up this time and able to eliminate the current waiting with list. we had proposed it last year but need to do is to get our pre-k from of kids in the current 38% in north carolina to at least 55%, get them don't started right, then, it's a long road for them to be ready to the third grade and to keep up with their classmates, nd particularly, to get the kind of skills that they need in market, which is moving quickly. north carolina is working hard keep our work force up with innovation because we know that the jobs of 20, 30, about 85% of have not even been invented yet. >> some critical thinking skills. talking last week about high demand fields. about a couple of those and how you're getting young north carolinians ready them. >> you've got nursing, analytics, technology field is exploding. trying he things we're to do is encourage girls to get, even in elementary and high school, to get into the technology work force. north carolina is proud. e've got, we're second in the country only to here in d.c. for field, n the technology women are in our technology. technology field is 38.7% women. program called girls go cyber. e're working hard to get them into the marketplace, and we work with businesses to find out they need, and our work be our most g to important facet of my administration, because we've ready.get them i talk to c.e.o.s all over the being the chief economic development recruiter for our state and the number one is do you haveme the people? do you have the work force? question comes before axes, it comes before quality of life, it is the number one not have thatu do work force they will not come. we know that in order to have that work force, north carolina be a top 10 educated state by 2025, and if i have which isto do with it, governor of my state, i expect to. we're going to get there. are you in now? >> well, you know, i think we're top 10 educated state when it cummings to community colleges and universities. i think we have one of the best state university systems in the country. it's going to be critical for to continue with funding them. but we've got work to do with pre-k and k through 12. and we have particularly in our we've got growing, thriving, urban areas, and rural left that have been behind. of a got more and more divide in ability and kids who backgrounds.ferent our state constitution requires every child receive a sound, basic education. we've got a court case about now. right and it is up to us to make school has a very quality principle, every teacher.m has a quality and that is our big challenge right now. i'll give o things, you a positive school experience. >> governor, that's the course, that ut of isn't yet the reality, so what are u do for students who now trapped and struggling in public schools? the child as treat a whole. in other words, just sending a school, we expect fix everything, and they are with them six hours a day. f we don't deal with the surrounding services of domestic violence of the home, with abuse disorder, with with healthcare of the kids, with counseling, be very going to difficult to meet that demand. i have set up a teacher advisory council. i work closely with the north carolina association of affiliated hich is with the nea. we ask teachers the kinds of of support he kinds that they need. but it's going to take an nvestment, and one of the mistakes that states are making cross the country is they are reducing their tax base to the point where they don't have the unding to invest in public education like they need. >> and by reducing their tax base you're talking about tax cuts? they are cutting individual ncome tax and corporate tax in north carolina year after year after year, and i believe middle people who need it, should get tax cuts, but not we shouldn't be cutting and for the wealthy corporations at the expense of education. states can't print money. can't lift a debt ceiling. aftereffects the of this in the midwestern states who have decided to go this route. it's intolerable. make sure we invest, and i'm working with chambers of commerce across north carolina them, now, i'm not saying raise taxes but what i'm these cuts and make your priority public education. >> i want to be sure i this, because this is quite interesting. you're saying when you're talking to kro crosses of global they are talking about coming to the state, they are more concern about the work rate. than the tax >> the work force is the number one thing. >> they clearly care about both. they care about quality of life. hey care -- they care a lot about where their kids are going to go to school when they move somewhere. they care about low cost of living. they do care about tax structure. they care about economic incentives. but that number one threshold is force, and the work force is changing dramatically, even we speak, because of the kinds of skills that people are these jobs of n today and tomorrow, and my n.c. job ready is bringing together job businesses. we're trying to do is lower the threshold of educational attain. nd making students understand that you don't necessarily need the two to four-year degree, there are certifications that you can get so that you can make a very good living. we're trying to bring the businesses into this. we're creating more internships apprenticeships, and getting what nformation about businesses need to do, so this work force, and then local critical because urban and rural areas have how ficant differences in they approach work force development because of the different kinds of jobs that are there and available, and you have to make sure that your work orce meets the demands of the businesses that are there, and the business that you're trying to attract. think getting this business community into the state legislatures, in with governors, to say, that that ion is critical, and we have to invest, we've got to invest wisely and we can talk different policies all day about what is going to end up, quality education, getting teachers trained, in the making sure that they are given the tools they need to make sure we measure attain. performance, ure both of students and teachers. ccountability is critical in how we do that is important because we've got to show the taxpayers what they are getting investment. >> governor, this is a question from evan allen who is here with his friend. met them backstage general carolina assembly passed a mandate which requires hiring more teachers teacher ant to raise fire meet the national average. how are both possible? >> well, first you've got to tax base to -- make invest but this class size for k through three is good. you need smaller classes in elementary schools but you've got to pay for it. and the problem with the class mandate was that they did not pay for it. nd i talk to school superintendents a lot and i had them over just a few weeks to take is mandate was effect. and i had never seen them this anicked because they were in a situation where they did not have enough classrooms, they did they ve enough teachers, were forced to think about whether they were going to music and their art and their computer classes so that they could create the k chers that they need for through 3. they were putting more students in order, because you squeeze that balloon, it omes out one side and not the other and they were begging commissioners for obile classrooms. >> almost every school system in about te was asking mobile classrooms, that was and it was price up a situation that was intolerable. this in and phase funding. it was a real victory for voices got to ts saying you've do something about this. but we've got to get teacher salaries at least to the to onal average in order make sure we attract the kind of teachers that we need to this profession. as part of the national governor's association, to ing you're headed over the white house what do you think of the president's idea of having armed teachers? ridiculous.t's one thing that has done a lot for me. [applause] >> what has impressed me are the students who have stood up and incidentard after this n florida, i have three i saw a , millennials, real change in them. we've seen these shootings before. we have to stop. these students get involved and bring their message to washington and to all of the saying, ders, they are you've got to do something about this. have stronger background checks you've got to raise ages. options have to be on the senseless event this got to doce and we've something. hopefully we'll see this push to done.omething the president has said that he was going to do some things, and said he would do some things before and hasn't. we'll see. plan for your carrying forth this conversation in your state? attorney general of north carolina years ago. i helped all the schools to put their critical incident response kits, and their trategy plans, if this type of incident were to occur. it's very complicated and and we've put those in place. a n you hear a teacher at raleigh school the other day, the fire alarm went off. not want to did leave the classroom, because that's what happened in florida, fire alarm was pulled and this as they ot students left the building. their cher even brought kids into the closet together to protect them. alarmtalking about a fire here that went off. that's unacceptable. safest ol should be the place ever. my mom was a public school teacher. schools,duct of public my three daughters are product of public schools. i believe in them. safe, effective and they have got to create the work force of tomorrow. i'm excited about being part of it. carolina.or of north >> i hear you saying that this school shooting which has played media, i h on social hear you saying that there are, ftereffects, follow on effects even in your schools. >> yes. i think there are all over the country. it.can you not think about as a parent. as a student. schools.to these and when you know you have those who are out there, who are this kind out doing of thing, and we've got to find with this and all options have to be on the table and we have to be strong and opposition. make sure we make changes and sure our kids are safe. what did you learn about education from being a sunday teacher? >> that was one of my favorite jobs, was sunday. wayught all my kids all the through. i learned that lesson difficult job.a and that teachers, just the time they are in school, that's not even the half of it. used to see my mom prepare her lessons at the end and i knew hard work. >> and you went to the university of north carolina, chapel