Two cabinet members of the Obama administration plus U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell grappled with rural development issues and fielded questions Monday at a Town Hall meeting at Cole Auditorium.

For an hour and a half Secretaries Arne Duncan and Tom Vilsack, as well Burr and Kissell, responded to questions relating to rural leadership, education funding for disadvantaged schools, farmer’s markets, school nutrition, renewable energy sources, the development of the “green” economy and a lack of job opportunities.

All acknowledged there are serious issues facing rural America, while stressing America’s ability to rise to meet challenges.

“One thing that sets us apart, as a people, is our capacity to innovate,” Vilsack said to one of the larger rounds of applause of the meeting. “We are an innovative people.”

He pointed to America’s governmental structure, intellectual property rights and past success in creating the world’s largest economic engine.

Duncan identified education as the means by which people will enter the workforce and perpetuate innovation and success.

While responding to a question about vocational education and job opportunities for students who don’t plan to attend a four-year university, Duncan said the nation’s schools are “losing too many students to the streets.”

“What we need is many more students who can do both,” Duncan said referring to students who can enter the workforce immediately and those who can go on to thrive in a higher learning setting.

“We all know there are very few good jobs can do with a high school diploma ... and there are no good jobs out there for high school dropouts.”

Burr said it was time for the state to “face reality” that the way this generation of students communicates with each other is different than the traditional classroom model.

“I mean, a book didn’t come with that cell phone, but they still figured out how to text with it, didn’t they?” Burr asked

In response to another question about rural education and educators, Duncan and Vilsack stressed the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers.

“Teaching is a craft that is mastered over many years,” Duncan said. “When a school loses a teacher after two or three years it is a tremendous loss.”

Vilsack pointed out USDA programs to help people own their own homes, to expand broadband Internet service into rural communities and other ways to make these teachers a part of the community they work in.

“Obviously, if a person owns a home in a community, they have roots in that community,” he said. “... Expanding broadband into these communities will also give them the opportunity to access the same type of technology they have in other communities.”

Center for Rural Alabama Director Larry Lee asked a question concerning rural education, which he coined “the backbone of rural development.”

Duncan stressed leadership among principals and school administrators to increase this resource.

“We have to have the young people who are going to these schools to see opportunity in rural America,” Vilsack responded.

“I’ve always put it like this,” Lee answered. “In rural America, we sell our best heifers.”

RCC President Dr. Sharon Morrissey explained no quick fixes were identified during discussions between citizens and officials, but a level of commitment to making it happen was expressed.

“This is not something that’s going to happen overnight - it’s a huge undertaking we are looking at,” Morrissey said after the meeting. “But if we can put the right infrastructure in place, as we heard the Secretary of Agriculture talk about with providing broadband service and expanding our transportation corridors, we can create better opportunities for the young people that live here in rural areas.”

She said there are many things that are attractive about living in a rural area.

“I think there’s a lot of companies that would like to be located in a rural area,” she said. “I think there is a lot we need to do to improve the way we deliver education to reach these larger goals and outcomes, so we have a trained workforce that will help us attract those businesses to our area.”

Educator Cariccia Simpson expressed a mood of hope and expectation after the meeting. She is a native of Hamlet who will soon be the new principal of a school in another state.

“I took away from this that there’s hope for our children,” she said. “I’ve taught, primarily in Title I schools for 13 years.”

She said the achievement gap between minorities and other students is one huge stumbling block to improving rural education.

“I’ve watched closely how our president has proposed plans to help address these, and I leave this meeting with a spirit of hope and expectation these things will be addressed,” she said.

“I thought this was a good meeting,” Richmond County Democratic Party Chairman Antonio Blue said after the meeting. “It was very educational and very informative.”

However, Blue did express one regret, however.

“The only thing I wish they would’ve done a little differently is getting questions from the youth of the community,” he said. “The educational piece of this directly affects the youth.”