Tennessee gubernatorial forum on education: What you need to know

Education is the focus of the first televised statewide gubernatorial forum of this year's election.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), Belmont University, the USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee and the NewsChannel5 Network are partnering to host Tuesday's forum.

Six of the seven top-tier Republican and Democratic candidates are scheduled to attend. Here's what to look for Tuesday night.

More: How to watch: 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial forum on education

Why does this matter to you as a voter?

Education is an important issue in which the state plays a key role. The next governor gets to pick an education commissioner, for instance, and help set education policy and funding recommendations.

That means everything from how much money your local school district gets to whether teachers get raises.

A governor can have a huge impact if he or she makes education a priority. Gov. Bill Haslam, who faces term limits and can't seek re-election, made higher education a top agenda item and pushed through his Tennessee Promise initiative. The program provides free community college to all high school graduates.

What's at stake for the candidates?

The forum provides the largest audience to date for the candidates. Tuesday's event also will allow the candidates an early opportunity to showcase their ideas. It also presents an opportunity for the candidates to potentially gain or lose traction based off their individual performance.

The USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee will live-stream the forum across all six of its sites in Tennessee, including in Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis.

In addition, NewsChannel5, the CBS affiliate in Nashville, will carry the forum live and stream the event on its website, Newschannel5.com. CBS affiliates in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Memphis also are expected to stream the forum.

Plus, at least 1,300 people are expected to attend the event at Belmont's Curb Event Center.

Who are the candidates who will be there?

Six of the seven top-tier candidates are scheduled to attend.

Republicans

Former state Sen. Mae Beavers

Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd

House Speaker Beth Harwell

Williamson County businessman Bill Lee

As of Friday, U.S. Rep. Diane Black was not scheduled to participate.

Democrats

Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean

House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh

How you can watch the forum?

The USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee will stream the forum live across all six of its websites and mobile apps. To watch go to:

Tennessean.com

Knoxnews.com

Commercialappeal.com

Jacksonsun.com

Theleafchronicle.com

DNJ.com

NewsChannel5 will carry the forum live on air and on its website. Check your local listings for more information.

In addition, the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee will host a live-stream show providing analysis and video interviews with the candidates 6-6:45 p.m. and again at 8:15 p.m. after the forum.