Business and education leaders spent today in Macon looking at potential changes to education in Georgia.Ideas were exchanged as well as a wide variety of opinions.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce partnered with other organizations including Georgia College to look at education reform. Conference goers heard differing views on issues like teacher accountability, school choice and recent testing scandals.

Marcus Downs with the Georgia Association of Educators, which represents teachers, spoke at the conference. He says the event was different because it brought everyone to the table including teachers who are often left out of the discussion.

“Our professionals are professionals and they understand that there must be some level of accountability. The only thing they’ve ever wanted is to make sure that their voices are heard and that they’ve been represented adequately.”

Chamber officials say they hope the conference will spur new ideas in education. They say Georgia can’t compete for jobs without an educated workforce.

Tags: education, Macon