ATLANTA (AP) -- Republican Gov. Nathan Deal and his Democratic challenger Jason Carter are attacking each other's public education record and questioning their opponent's plan to improve it.<br />
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The two shared the stage Monday for the first time ahead of the Nov. 4 election with a candidate forum hosted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators.<br />
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Deal says he's sought to protect funding for K-12 public education over the four years he's been in office and accuses Carter of failing to detail his plans to boost funding.<br />
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Carter, a state senator from Atlanta, says he wants lawmakers to handle the education budget first and blames Deal for a chronic underfunding of the state's public schools.<br />
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Libertarian candidate Andrew Hunt, the former CEO of an Atlanta nanotechnology firm, was not invited to the forum.
