Hutchinson picked to lead governors association panel

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has been appointed as the 201819 chairman of the National Governors Association’s Education and Workforce Committee.

The association named the Republican governor to the post during its summer meeting last week, the governor’s office said Tuesday. The committee is responsible for ensuring that the views of state leaders are represented in federal policy issues linked to early-childhood education, kindergarten-12th-grade education, higher education, workforce development and career-technical education.

“This appointment acknowledges that Arkansas is setting the pace for computer science and STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] education,” Hutchinson said in a written statement. “This opportunity is an honor that will allow me to demonstrate at a national level the state-directed initiatives that have served us so well in preparing our students for high-paying, in-demand careers.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, will serve as the committee’s vice chairman. The committee’s other members are Republican Govs. Kay Ivey of Alabama, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Matt Bevin of Kentucky, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Mary Fallin of Oklahoma, Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota and Phil Scott of Vermont, and Democratic Govs. John Carney of Delaware and Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, according to the association’s website.