MIAMI — North Carolina State Senator Walter H. Dalton of Rutherfordton has been elected vice chair of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Legislative Advisory Council. He was elected during the Council’s 55th annual work conference, held in Miami last week. The Legislative Work Conference is the nation’s oldest annual forum for legislators on education issues facing states.
As vice chair, Senator Dalton will help lead the Legislative Advisory Council — composed of senators, state representatives and delegates from SREB’s 16 member states — in providing advice to the SREB Board on legislative matters related to educational progress across the South.
Since his election to the North Carolina Senate in 1996, Dalton has been instrumental in education reform, including the passage of the Excellent Schools Act in 1998. In 2003, Dalton introduced and helped pass additional legislation to establish innovative education initiatives and strengthen North Carolina’s primary education system. His many leadership roles in the General Assembly have included serving as a co-chair of the education committee (1998-2002), and currently he is serving as co-chair of the appropriations committee. Dalton also continues to serve on the education committee, among other activities.
A native of Rutherfordton, Dalton graduated from R.S. Central High School and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1971 and a law degree in 1975. Upon graduation from law school, Walter worked in the federal court system. Since 1977, he has practiced law in the Rutherfordton area and is a partner in the law firm of Dalton and Miller.
In addition to his service on the Southern Regional Education Board and the SREB Legislative Advisory Council, Dalton is a member of the Boards of the North Carolina Public School Forum and the Rural Economic Development Center; he also serves on the North Carolina Economic Development Board, the North Carolina Tourism Board and the UNC Chapel Hill General Alumni Board.
SREB is a 16-state nonprofit organization that advises state leaders on ways to improve education. Board members include the governor of each member state and each governor’s four appointees. Other North Carolina Board members include Howard N. Lee, the chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Education, Raleigh; Cathy Tomon, principal of Broad Creek Middle School, Newport; and Representative Douglas Y. Yongue of Laurinburg.
The Southern Regional Education Board, or SREB, based in Atlanta, was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. More information is available online at www.sreb.org.
