GOVERNORS' 2008 STATEMENTS ON EDUCATION

Alabama — Gov. Bob Riley (R)
Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin (R)
Arizona — Gov. Janet Napolitano (D)
California — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
Colorado — Gov. Bill Ritter (D)
Connecticut — Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R)
Delaware — Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (D)
Florida — Gov. Charlie Crist (R)
Georgia — Gov. Sonny Perdue (R)
Hawaii — Gov. Linda Lingle (R)
Idaho — Gov. "Butch" Otter (R)
Illinois — Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D)
Indiana — Gov. Mitch Daniels (R)
Iowa — Gov. Chet Culver (D)
Kansas — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D)
Kentucky — Gov. Steve Beshear (D)
Maine — Gov. John Baldacci (D)
Maryland — Gov. Martin O'Malley (D)
Massachusetts — Gov. Deval Patrick (D)
Michigan — Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D)
Minnesota — Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R)

Mississippi — Gov. Haley Barbour (R)
Missouri — Gov. Matt Blunt (R)
Nebraska — Gov. David Heineman (R)
New Hampshire — Gov. John Lynch (D)
New Jersey — Gov. Jon Corzine (D)
New Mexico — Gov. Bill Richardson (D)
New York — Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D)
Ohio — Gov. Ted Strickland (D)
Oklahoma — Gov. Brad Henry (D)
Oregon — Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D)
Pennsylvania — Gov. Ed Rendell (D)
Rhode Island — Gov. Don Carcieri (R)
South Carolina — Gov. Mark Sanford (R)
South Dakota — Gov. Mike Rounds (R)
Tennessee — Gov. Phil Bredesen (D)
Utah — Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. (R)
Vermont — Gov. James Douglas (R)
Virginia — Gov. Tim Kaine (D)
Washington — Gov. Christine Gregoire (D)
West Virginia — Gov. Joe Manchin III (D)
Wisconsin — Gov. Jim Doyle (D)
Wyoming — Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D)

Alabama — Governor Bob Riley (R)
State of the State: February 6, 2008

...As exciting as all this progress is, nothing is more exciting or more important as the gains we are making in education. The U.S. Secretary of Education said this progress is, quote - "phenomenal" - and that no other state has done more than Alabama to improve education. The reforms we've put in place are working. Since we last met, all states have received their grades on the nation's report card. And I am proud to say that Alabama led the nation in reading improvements in the fourth grade! But the good news doesn't stop there. Math scores in grades 4 and 8 doubled the nation's gains!

When was the last time you remember Alabama leading the nation in education? It's never happened before, but ladies and gentlemen, today it's a reality.

...A government that is honest, ethical and honorable is fundamental to a better future for Alabama. Without it we can't expect the people to trust that we'll do what's best for them and their children. And they deserve, no, they should demand — that trust.

And they should trust that we will do everything we can to fulfill our most basic and most important duty - the education of our children. If we fail that - if we fail them - then all else we accomplish will mean very little. No economy, no state will ever reach its full potential if the next generation is not properly prepared for the future. And the best way to prepare them is to start at the beginning.

I ask you: if we expand our top-rated pre-K program to more of Alabama's children, will that help them succeed? Absolutely! Children who participate in high quality pre-K are less likely to repeat a grade or be placed in special education. We know they score higher on achievement tests and are more likely to graduate from high school and go on to college. As adults they get better jobs with higher-paying salaries, and they are also more likely to stay out of prison and off welfare.

In Alabama our pre-K program is already the best in the nation. Just last year Republicans and Democrats joined together and substantially increased pre-K funding. Yet access to pre-K remains too restricted. Currently it reaches only four percent of our four-year-olds. That's simply not enough.

And so my budget includes a 20 million dollar increase to triple the number of children who benefit from voluntary First Class pre-K.

The way the system operates today lower income families can send their children to Head Start. Higher income families can afford private pre-K. But working middle-class families are left out. By providing affordable access, First Class fills the gap that has left our working families with too few options.

First Class pre-K is the smartest investment we could ever make in our children. Nothing we do this session will make more of a difference in their lives and we should have no higher priority than our children's future.

Just as investments in pre-K make sense, so do the investments we make in programs that we know work. Our nationally renowned Reading Initiative. Our Math, Science and Technology Initiative, and our ACCESS distance learning program do get results. Clear, unmistakable results. They are proven winners. And in Alabama, if there's one thing we know, we know enough to back winners.

Now some say these programs must be cut; that we can't afford them this year. But if we're serious about creating the best education system in America, then the last thing we should do is hurt those very initiatives that are making Alabama a national leader in education.

And if you pass this balanced budget, we will not only protect these education programs from cuts, we can and we will expand them!

Alaska — Governor Sarah Palin (R)
State of the State: January 15, 2008

...Together, let's provide the services that our Constitution requires, constitutional services such as education, public safety, and a solid infrastructure — and let's do them right.

...So when government provides education and job training, every able-bodied Alaskan is expected to work and not simply rely on government to provide.

...In Education, we are shaping a three-year funding plan to finally shift the school debate from perpetual "money talk" to accountability and achievement! We are focusing on foundational skills needed in the "real-world" workplace and in college.

...My administration is proposing $7 billion dollars into the Permanent Fund, Constitutional Budget Reserve, the Education Fund and PERS/TRS debt relief.

...It is our energy development that pays for essential services, like education. Victor Hugo said, "He who opens a school door, closes a prison." It's a privileged obligation we have to "open education doors." Every child, of every ability, is to be cherished and loved and taught. Every child provides this world hope. They are the most beautiful ingredient in our sometimes muddied up world. I am committed to our children and their education. Stepping through "the door" is about more than passing a standardized test. We need kids prepared to pass life's tests — like getting a job and valuing a strong work ethic. Our Three-year Education Plan invests more than a billion dollars each year. We must forward-fund education, letting schools plan ahead. We must stop pink-slipping teachers, and then struggle to recruit and retain them the next year.

We will enable schools to finally focus on innovation and accountability to see superior results.

We're asking lawmakers to pass a new K-12 funding plan early this year. This is a significant investment that is needed to increase the base student allocation, district cost factors and intensive needs students. It includes $100 million in school construction and deferred maintenance. There is awesome potential to improve education, respect good teachers, and embrace choice for parents. This potential will prime Alaska to compete in a global economy that is so competitive it will blow us away if we are not prepared. Beyond high school, we will boost job training and University options. We are proposing more than $10 million in new funding for apprenticeship programs, expansion of construction, engineering and health care degrees to meet demands. But it must be about more than funds, it must be a change in philosophy. It is time to shift focus, from just dollars and cents to "caliyulriit," which is Yupik for "people who want to work." Work for pride in supporting our families, in and out of the home. Work for purpose and for action, and ultimately destiny fulfilled by being fruitful. It's about results and getting kids excited about their future — whether it is college, trade school or military. The Lieutenant Governor and I are working on a plan to make attending Alaska's universities and trade schools a reality for more Alaskans through merit scholarships.

...With so much opportunity in Alaska, let's look at challenges like we do in our own families: save money, spend wisely, and we will secure our tomorrow. Invest in solid foundations like education and deferred maintenance.

Arizona — Governor Janet Napolitano (D)
State of the State: January 14, 2008

...My message to you today is clear: the state of Arizona is strong. And together, we are writing the story of its future.

...I see it as a story with five interlocking chapters. Chapter One, for me, will always be education.

I believe education is the most important chapter for our future. Look where we stood just five years ago. There was no plan to give Arizona's children the early start they need and deserve. Teacher pay was lagging, and we weren't doing what was necessary to support our new teachers and keep our best educators in the classroom. Phoenix was the largest city in the nation without a university-based medical school and our state was not graduating enough students with college degrees to keep up with our growth.

Fast-forward to today. We've created a new grade level by making full-day kindergarten available to every Arizona family. We've made historic investments in early childhood education and in teacher pay. We've broken ground on an all-new medical campus, tripled our contribution to student financial aid, and built up our universities.

This is progress, and it is precisely where we needed to go.

Now, we must move quickly — this year — to implement the voter-approved initiative aimed at early childhood. Beginning with our youngest children, we must focus on preschool and quality child care, so that children are fully prepared for the all-day kindergarten we now provide.

For older students, we set the tone last month when the State Board of Education raised expectations and standards to require more math and science in high school. I believe — and our educators believe — these new standards are key to what must be the central goal of an Arizona education: giving our students the skills they need to succeed in the high-tech, high-knowledge world of the 21st century.

And now that we've changed the graduation standards, tests need to be changed to match. For example, students now will have had four years of math, taking them to the Algebra II level. It makes no sense to test them to a level they completed two years earlier.

So we need to look at everything — including AIMS — to make sure we're testing for the right things, at the right times, and for the right reasons.

It's also time to end the fiction that a high school diploma is the final goal of education or that a student should be allowed to drop out at the age of 16. An Arizona diploma should demonstrate that a student is fully prepared for higher education, whether in a technical or vocational setting, a community college, or a university. Yes, we should make reasonable alternatives available for students who can't succeed in a regular classroom. And the dropout age should be raised to 18 years old.

Higher standards for students mean we must sustain a higher-quality corps of math and science teachers by expanding teacher loan forgiveness, scholarships, and incentives. Last year, you took a big step in this direction by providing initial funding for these incentives, and by funding more math and science teachers; I ask you to do the same this year.

We've added rigor to the curriculum and raised expectations. But high standards must come with strong support, which you should provide; and we must also reward our students when they succeed.

Given our budget constraints, we cannot do as much — immediately — as we would like. But we can look to the future. The eighth graders of today are the high school class of 2012 — Arizona's centennial class. I say, let's make a contract with these Centennial Scholars, and with all the classes that follow. Let's agree that any eighth grader who pledges to stay out of trouble and maintains at least a "B" average in high school will be guaranteed free tuition at any of our community colleges or state universities. Let's act now for the class of 2012, and for every class thereafter, because the promise of these Centennial Scholars is the promise of Arizona's next 100 years.

Rewarding students who are excelling is a good step, but we must recognize that higher education is something that all Arizona children will need to succeed. It's a pathway to prosperity and, in Arizona; it's also supposed to be affordable.

I propose that, beginning next year, all Arizona universities guarantee that when a student begins college, his or her tuition will not be raised for four years — period. Times change and tuition will rise, but it shouldn't go up once you've started your coursework. Call it a "fixed-rate" loan on the best investment we can make in Arizona's future — our children.

We also need to educate and train more health care professionals. To achieve that end, the new university medical campus in Phoenix, which will bring more doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals to Arizona, is paramount. My budget asks you to authorize the funding necessary for this project, which will make Arizona a world leader in cutting-edge medical education and health care.

While we invest in these medical degrees, let's remember that Arizona has to increase the number of students who earn bachelor's degrees.

In the past five years, that number has grown, and our community colleges are granting associate degrees at a very competitive rate. But we need to do more. I call on our higher education institutions to work together and double the number of bachelor's degrees they produce by the year 2020. To do this, our universities have to increase graduation rates, retain more students, create more options for students in rural areas, enroll more first-generation students, and boost the number of students coming from community colleges. This Legislature needs to support them now in these critical tasks.

Before I leave this chapter on education, I will remind you of a critically important fact: 15 percent of students come from families that do not speak English. These students must learn to read, write and speak in English as soon as possible. I put this challenge to legislative leadership: take our tax dollars out of court and put them back in the classroom, where they belong.

Our education system is linked to the needs of Arizona's economic future. There is no separation. We need more teachers. We need more engineers, scientists, urban planners, water specialists and entrepreneurs. We have worked ardently, from preschool to community college and university, to increase the quality of an Arizona education, and then to align education as a whole to the needs of Arizona's economy. We are still writing the education chapter of our Arizona story, but the direction we have taken is the right one.

California — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
State of the State: January 8, 2008

... Which brings me to the next subject, which is public education.

It makes me proud as Governor that a recent survey found that 23 out of the top 100 public schools in the nation were in California. And I would like to congratulate the teachers, the principals, the administrators and all who are responsible for those remarkable schools.

Now, there's other great news too. Like, for instance, the number of high school students taking advanced math and science courses has increased by 53 percent since 2003. And that, by the way, is terrific for our high-tech future. And we have other great education news, but it's not all good news, as we know. Like, for instance, our dropout rate is now between 15 or 30%. We don't even know exactly the number. Now, this is not just a statistic, may I remind you. These are children lost in the black hole of ignorance, poverty and crime. And on top of that, our schools have 30% fewer teachers and half the number of counselors as other schools in the U.S. We've got to fix that. We've got to create 100,000 more teachers in the next ten years.

Now, everyone knows that to dramatically change our education system we have to undertake reforms, and we have to fund those reforms. In light of the current budget situation, of course, this is not the year to talk about money. I do believe, however, that we still must undertake reforms right now in the schools that need our help most.

Like, for instance, to varying degrees 98 school districts in California are out of compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act. According to the Act, after five straight years of noncompliance by a district, the State is required to take action or lose federal funding.

Now, we have identified several of the districts that on a whole have persistently failed to education children. So I'm announcing today that California will be the first state to use its powers given to us under this No Child Left Behind Act to turn these districts around. And we will be working with Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell, and the teachers, the administrators, the parents and the elected officials to make these districts models of reform. No more waiting. We must act on behalf of the children.

Colorado — Governor Bill Ritter (D)
State of the State: January 10, 2008

...My hope for the next 120 days is that we strengthen what is great about Colorado and build on the work we started in 2007:

...We forged ahead on health care reform, education reform and funding for higher-ed, and laid the groundwork for future action.

Let's celebrate those successes, but let's not be satisfied. There is much more to be done for the people of Colorado. Fulfilling the Colorado Promise is a long journey. Over the past 12 months we put key building blocks in place. Over the next 120 days, we must:

Make real progress on education reform, because too many of our students are unprepared for college or the 21st century workforce.

...One year ago, I told you I wasn't big on litmus tests, but that we should gauge all of our actions and decisions against one question: Is it good for Colorado's children, for Colorado's future?

Education is the cornerstone of our economy and it dictates how we will move Colorado forward in the 21st century. So much of what I've just talked about comes back to education. If ever there was a place to be bold and ambitious, to push hard and fast against the status quo, this is it.

To keep Colorado great, today's students — and tomorrow's leaders — will have to meet global challenges around energy, transportation and technology. For that to happen, we have to think bigger about revitalizing our education systems than ever before, or the world will pass us by.

Speaker Romanoff, President Groff and Treasurer Kennedy have confidently pushed against the status quo with their Building Excellent Schools Today, or "BEST," capital funding plan. I congratulate them for making safe and modern schools a priority.

Last year, I set a 10-year goal of cutting the dropout rate and achievement gap in half, and doubling the number of college degrees and certificates. This year, we have specific proposals to help achieve those goals, thanks in large part to the P-20 Education Council co-chaired by Lt. Gov. O'Brien, business leader Bruce Benson and CSU-Pueblo President Joe Garcia. Mr. Benson and Mr. Garcia are also here with us today.

These proposals include eliminating the current wait-list for the Colorado Preschool Program and extending full-day kindergarten to 22,000 more children statewide. I also am proposing the creation of a Colorado Counselor Corps, which will send 70 counselors into targeted middle and high schools with a specific mission: make the dream of college a reality for more kids.

We're able to do these things because last year we listened and finally gave voice to voters in 98 percent of our school districts who repeatedly said, "Invest local revenues in local schools. Make smarter investments with our limited resources."

After just a few months of work, the P-20 Council shows us very clearly that Colorado does not lack talent. Rather, we lack an overarching educational vision, a vision that aligns standards from pre-school to college and puts an emphasis on proficiency and learning.

Many people are working hard to change that, including our partners at the Department of Education and the Department of Higher Education. Therefore, today, I am announcing the "Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids," and it will be co-sponsored by Senators Romer and Penry and Representatives Witwer and Scanlan.

This will be the most revolutionary shift in education policy this state has seen in years. For too long, our education systems and policies have been focused on "seat time" and course titles, assuming that measuring the number of years in a particular class is somehow more important than measuring whether students actually learned anything. But when nearly one-third of college freshmen in Colorado require remedial training, something is wrong.

Therefore, I am proposing that we put our education emphasis where it belongs: on helping kids learn, on measuring knowledge and skills, on connecting what is taught in high school with exactly what is expected in college.

I am proposing that we establish policies that assume all students have the potential to succeed in college, and that we prepare them accordingly. I am proposing a seamless system of expectations, policies and tools that thread their way from pre-school to college. We must ensure that every classroom in Colorado is providing a rigorous and relevant education, and that students are learning skills that effectively prepare them for success in the 21st century.

Imagine a day when all curriculums are better designed to prepare students for college and good-paying jobs. When admission to college is based not just on a transcript, but also on the demonstration of skills. When cross-system policies and content standards are transparent and coordinated so that educators understand how to help students succeed.

Where will this lead? To dramatically expanded opportunities for post-secondary education and training. To dramatically expanded opportunities for better jobs and better pay. To a stronger economy, to stronger communities and to stronger families everywhere in Colorado.

The P-20 Council, the Department of Education and the Department of Higher Education, local stakeholders and lawmakers are beginning to work hard on this. As this moves forward, let there be no doubt that this is a bold and ambitious path to a revitalized education system. It will be meaningful reform now, and it will lay a solid foundation for the work we must continue to do in the future.

Connecticut — Governor M. Jodi Rell (R)
State of the State: February 6, 2008

...I am also proposing that college tuition be waived at all state colleges for spouses and children of service members killed in action.

... Connecticut's economy will need quality skilled nurses and engineers to fill its current and future labor needs.

That is why I am providing $800,000 in additional funding for nursing scholarships and teaching at UConn, our state universities, and community-technical colleges.

I am also recommending $300,000 for an engineering loan reimbursement program to engineers who work in our State.

... I want our state to continue our leadership on climate change. To that end, I am proposing several initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

They include:

... Establishing an exciting "Green Collar" Jobs program at our vo-tech schools to train students in energy efficient building, construction and retrofit work.

Delaware — Governor Ruth Ann Minner (D)
State of the State: January 17, 2008

...First, I'd like to talk about our schools. In 2001, we knew we needed to improve state test scores, work to implement full-day kindergarten in every public elementary school in the state, upgrade our teacher performance review system, and come up with a plan to attract and keep our brightest college graduates teaching in Delaware classrooms.

Also, if a student could not afford college, he or she often gave up on the dream of higher education, and in some cases, may have even dropped out of high school.

Since I took office, we have put reading specialists in all of our public elementary schools and math specialists in all of our middle schools to help students who are struggling in these key subjects. Our Delaware Teacher Corps program has brought more bright and talented young teachers into our classrooms, and our new Delaware Performance Appraisal System for teachers will be implemented in every district next school year.

And through the persistence, hard work, and leadership of Senator McDowell and Representative Wagner, we worked together to implement the SEED scholarship program, offering free college tuition to any student who works hard, stays out of trouble, and gets good grades. Today, more than 1,300 Delaware high school graduates are successfully attending college and on the path to a degree, a good job, and a better life.

In 2005, Delaware students outscored the rest of the nation in improvement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in fourth and eighth-grade reading and math, and their improvement continues to remain above the national average. We have also been recognized as one of the top four states in the country for closing the achievement gap among minority, disabled, and low-income students.

Our state test scores continue to rise, and we have one of the highest percentages of national blue ribbon schools in the United States.

I am extremely proud of our accomplishments in the field of education. Let's continue building on that record by passing the Student Academic Reward scholarship program, or STAR, this year. The STAR scholarship would enable high-achieving SEED graduates to continue on to a four-year, tuition-free bachelor's degree. This is a tremendous opportunity for our students and would result in a better educated workforce for our business community.

At this time, I am proud to introduce Cameron Galbreath of Dover, an architectural engineering major at Delaware Technical and Community College, and Kelsey Burris of Camden, a theater production major in the Associate of Arts program at the University of Delaware. These two SEED students are currently excelling in their fields of study and would like to take advantage of the STAR scholarship if it becomes available. Let's finish the job we started and make that dream a reality for such hard-working Delaware students.

We will also continue to support the efforts of the Vision 2015 group, an organization of business leaders, educators and state officials who are committed to a plan to make our schools the best in the world. In that effort, we will recommend an appropriation of $500,000 to continue to invest in early childhood education and also make the virtual school a reality by investing more than $250,000 in that cutting-edge project.

Just last week, I met with Skip Schoenhals and Education Secretary Valerie Woodruff, co-chairs of the 18-member Leadership for Education Achievement in Delaware (or LEAD) Committee, that I established to find cost-savings in our public education system. As always, Skip and Val did a great job leading this group and developing an aggressive list of ideas to save our state money. I have forwarded that report to Office of Management and Budget Director Jennifer Davis and directed that she and Secretary Woodruff begin reviewing and implementing some of these cost-saving ideas as soon as possible.

I propose we devote any cost savings through this effort to our early childhood education initiatives and other classroom programs. Again, thank you, Skip and Val, for your leadership on this project.

We will also continue funding for full-day kindergarten, a program that helps children get additional time in the classroom as they are building the foundation for their educational success. My budget proposal for the next fiscal year includes state funding for full-day kindergarten in 11 districts and nine charter schools.

Florida — Governor Charlie Crist (R)
State of the State: March 4, 2008

...Our current path in education has reaped significant gains in student achievement in reading and math over the past five years. Florida's school performance has now risen from 31st to 14th among all states and risen to 7th in achievement.

While the vast majority of teachers are committed, some demonstrate exceptional creativity in bringing out the best in their students — our children.

In the same way, the Merit Award Program you created last year rewards our best and brightest public school teachers. I recommend we fully fund these teacher bonuses for those who improve student achievement and who work diligently to improve their teaching skills through national peer review.

It is important we continue to tell our best teachers — Teachers like Michelle Lingo, Escambia County's Teacher of the Year: Thank You for a Job Well Done.

Florida's universities and community colleges provide the next critical step in the education of our people. These institutions are producing the future leaders of our state, our nation and the world. We must continue to invest in higher education.

My budget provides for more than $5 billion for higher education and that is an increase over last year.

Georgia — Governor Sonny Perdue (R)
State of the State: January 16, 2008

...Education is the best investment we can make in our future. We have come a long way in the last five years — raising graduation rates, strengthening curricula, seeing test scores and achievement go up.

We've kept our teachers the highest paid in the Southeast — and yes, teachers, you can all look forward to the $100 Classroom Gift Card we will issue once again this summer.

In the gallery today sit two bright faces that have benefited from our education system. Tiffany and Ashley Vann, would you two please stand up? Tiffany is a senior and Ashley a junior at Southwest DeKalb High School.

These young ladies were enrolled in the first Georgia Pre-K classes funded by the lottery — and they are applying to our world-class universities with plans to take advantage of the HOPE scholarship. As the first Pre-K class enters college this fall, we see how Georgia has made it possible for these outstanding students and their classmates to enjoy a lifetime of learning.

This includes adding $6.4 million in lottery funds to bring the total number of Pre-K slots up to 79,000 — giving more of our young children the opportunities Tiffany and Ashley capitalized on.

Tiffany and Ashley — I am proud of you. You should take pride in what you've accomplished. And I pledge today to continue our work to make Georgia's education system the best in the nation.

Our next step in education is getting parents involved in their child's education. We can teach and coach and motivate a student all day long — but if they don't show up for the game, we will lose.

Yesterday morning I announced the "VIP Recruiter" program — Very Important Parent Recruiters. We will invest $14.25 million, targeting our schools with the poorest attendance rates. Simply put, a child's attendance record is a direct result of parental involvement. These recruiters will help parents understand the education system, to help them make a connection with their child's teachers. They will learn how and why to be supportive of their child's education.

I am also pleased to recommend $65 million to bolster our transportation and technology in K-12. I have heard the call from our educators and our legislators — and school buses and 21st century technology are the two areas where I know this powerful investment are most needed.

Georgia continues to move up in education. The best way to continue on that path in our schools is to link flexibility with accountability. That's exactly what the IE2 Partnership is doing — offering new options in exchange for performance. Can I remind you, IE2 stands for "Investing in Educational Excellence?"

I thank Lt. Governor Cagle for his leadership on charter schools and charter systems — but we're not stopping there. We want every school in Georgia to earn the flexibility charter schools enjoy. It's about local control — local decision making — and swift sanctions for lack of performance.

Hawaii — Governor Linda Lingle (R)
State of the State: January 22, 2008

...It is as certain as night follows day that we cannot speculate or sell ourselves into prosperity.

Instead, we have to be willing to invest in those education and workforce programs that will prepare people to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.

We need to make giant strides that bring about significant progress.

I am convinced that Hawaii's recent strong economy has allowed us to postpone making difficult but important decisions, and has perpetuated education and workforce structures that do not fit well in the 21st century.

...The only way to reach our preferred future is to stay on this new road.

The progress we have made in the past 12 months is exciting and encouraging:

• We have launched a statewide program to increase the global education of Hawaii's teachers, students and residents.

I am pleased to have with us today as my special guest, Madam Wu Chi-Di, vice minister of the Chinese Ministry of Education, with whom we hope to have more educational exchanges.

• We have begun to establish academies in middle and high schools that focus on science, technology, engineering and math.

We stress STEM education because it helps equip our graduates with the analytical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork skills necessary for any high-quality job of the 21st century.

• We have initiated the MELE program at Honolulu Community College to further build the artistic and commercial success of the Hawai'i an music industry.

I want to thank the community college system for its leadership on these important initiatives.

• And we partnered with NASA, which will sponsor the FIRST Robotics Challenge at the Stan Sheriff Center in March, where 25 Hawai'i public and private schools will join 13 mainland teams in what is called the "Super Bowl of Smarts."

In total, today there are 95 schools statewide that are involved with a hands-on robotics program.

I would like to take a moment to recognize some of the students and their advisors who will be among those competing in the Regional FIRST Robotics Challenge in March.

These young people and their adult mentors are an inspiration to me in the fearless way they are embracing their future.

Their enthusiasm makes me optimistic about our state's future.

The father of Hawai'i robotics, Art Kimura, and his wife, Rene, are here today along with students and their teachers from Wai'kea and Hilo high schools on the Big Island; Waimea High School on Kaua'i; Baldwin High School on Maui; and N'n'kuli, Maryknoll, Punahou, McKinley, St. Louis, Farrington, Moanalua, Kapolei, Waipahu, Hawai'i Baptist Academy, Campbell, 'Iolani, Waialua, Sacred Hearts Academy and Kamehameha high schools on O'ahu.

Please stand and be recognized.

Our efforts to promote innovation were recognized last year by the National Governors Association when we were chosen as one of six states to receive a grant funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Intel Corporation.

While I am somewhat satisfied with our progress, I know there is still so much more we need to do in order to secure a brighter tomorrow for future generations.

We are proposing to start Creative Academies, modeled after the successful STEM Academies, to nurture and support the many talents of Hawaii's keiki.

These academies would focus on animation, digital media, game development and writing and publishing in elementary through high school.

And we are asking the Legislature to pass tax deductions of up to $20,000 a year for parents or other family members saving for a child's college education.

We propose the creation of a Commission on Higher Education made up of the presidents of Hawaii's major universities, members of the community, and business leaders.

This Commission will give us the opportunity to embrace new ideas and new ways of using federal and state education dollars.

And again this year we propose that the state retirement fund allocate $100 million to invest in the creative ideas and talents of Hawaii's companies and people.

Idaho — Governor "Butch" Otter (R)
State of the State: January 7, 2008

...A two-thirds supermajority of voters in Ada and Canyon counties created a community college district in May. And now the College of Western Idaho will open for business in the fall.

Thank you for providing the seed money, the guidance and the leadership needed for this project to bear fruit. It's been a tremendous success so far, with a real sense of community buy-in and ownership.

And the best is yet to come.

I recommend that we continue our startup financial commitment of $5 million for the foreseeable future, as reflected in my budget.

I also will be proposing that we double the amount of funding allocated to community colleges from state liquor sales.

The College of Southern Idaho and North Idaho College now get $150,000 a year. My plan calls for CSI, NIC and the College of Western Idaho each to get $200,000 — for a total of $600,000.

That's a wise investment that will pay off in the years ahead with more affordable educational choices and trained workers.

...In the meantime, there are some things we can do now to improve our ability to respond to current and future health-care needs.

One of those is following up on last year's allocation of funding to expand Idaho's nursing school opportunities.

I'm asking that you appropriate more than $1 million for equipment and staff at the new Lewis-Clark State College nursing school in Lewiston.

Friends, we know from experience that education is the key to many of the challenges we face.

While it may not be the solution in every case, it certainly is an essential element to finding solutions.

That search starts in childhood. And nothing empowers children and unleashes their potential like enabling them to dream.

If you're anything like me, your own ability to dream probably depends on what and how much you read as a child.

So let's help Idaho's children dream big dreams.

I'm proposing that we expand the "Read to Me" program to reach an additional 5,000 children and 30 more libraries throughout Idaho.

And for those young people whose dream includes a college education — but for whom money is a barrier — I'm proposing that we provide an additional $50 million for the Opportunity Scholarship Trust Fund.

After all, how better to ensure we have the minds and the talent to face our challenges than to "grow our own?"

Now I want to talk with you for just a few minutes about a unique opportunity at this moment in Idaho's history.

We all agree that education is essential to preparing competent, creative and innovative citizens for success in life.

We also can agree that there is an essential connection between the quality of our education and the vitality of our economy.

So Superintendent Tom Luna and I have asked a group of business and education leaders to help us develop a plan for making Idaho the nation's leader in quality, cost-effective education, with an initial focus on K through 12.

Our goal is to improve how Idaho students acquire the skills they need for technology-driven workplace changes and competing in the global economy.

The first step involves assessing what we spend for education and how we spend it. We'll then compare that with investment levels and best practices of high-performing systems here and abroad.

This isn't about spending as much as somebody else. This is about more effectively and efficiently applying our resources toward a vision for the future of education in Idaho.

Stay tuned as we move forward with the process of figuring out what works.

Illinois — Governor Rod Blagojevich (D)
State of the State: February 20, 2008

...We put a record amount of money in our public schools without raising taxes on people....

...Let's pass a capital bill. Let's make those necessary investments in our aging infrastructure. Let's make our bridges safe. Let's repair our roads. Let's build schools. Let's put people to work. And let's put an end to the delays, the excuses, and the poison pills.

...There are bridges across Illinois that desperately need to be fixed. There are bridges that need to be built. There are roads in each of your districts that need to be repaired. And there are too many of our school children trying to learn their lessons in classrooms that are overcrowded, or going to school in buildings that are old and crumbling and not good places to learn. Let's build them good places to learn.

...There are, of course, other important priorities of government. We will continue to fund and support our state police. We will continue to provide critical social services to protect children, seniors and help families in need. We will fund our schools and continue to work for higher standards and accountability....

Indiana — Governor Mitch Daniels (R)
State of the State: January 15, 2008

...We are off to a fine start. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tem, taxpayers could not ask for more fair-minded cooperation than you each demonstrated by beginning work immediately on the framework bill I proposed.

The tenets of that framework are well known to each member, and need no lengthy elaboration here. I ask you to take four — there's that number again — major steps on behalf of taxpayers.

First, immediate relief to every homeowner, taking Indiana property tax levels to some of the very lowest in America. The plan I sent you would place our state among the lowest eight or nine states anywhere, and by far the lowest in the Midwest.

Second, permanent protection against the return of unaffordable taxes, through a permanent, constitutional cap of one percent of a home's value, an absolute ceiling beyond which no homeowner would ever pass. Make the cuts further secure by lifting permanently the costs of child welfare protection and school operations off the property taxpayer altogether.

Third, reform of our hopelessly unfair assessment system, with its unexplained inaccuracies and its unequal treatment of like properties.

And fourth, genuine limits on total local spending and borrowing, with none of the loopholes and exceptions that have permitted such spending to balloon in recent years. I hope you will join me in giving citizens what they have in most states, a final say over major capital projects through a straightforward referendum. I do not share the fear of some that Hoosiers cannot be trusted to weigh the pros and cons of big investments for which they will pay the costs. I say, trust the people; give them the facts, and let them vote.

Iowa — Governor Chet Culver (D)
State of the State: January 15, 2008

...The Condition of the State is strong because last year you passed and I signed historic legislation. These new initiatives related to job creation, renewable energy, health care, and education, will improve our quality of life and strengthen our economy.

...We promised to increase teacher pay and expand early childhood education — and we did.

...We promised to provide veterans injury, education and housing assistance — and we did that too.

...We promised to make college more affordable and to support our public and private colleges and universities at the highest level ever — and we did.

We promised to increase civil liberty protections for all Iowans, to fight discrimination and harassment at work and in our schools — and we did that too.

...Let's make sure we pay our teachers what they deserve, and do whatever it takes to bring them to the national average in teacher pay.

We need to maintain the funding levels for our community colleges, regents' institutions and private colleges.

Let's expand early childhood education so we can meet our goal of offering it statewide by 2010.

...The Lt. Governor's Commission on Health and Wellness has forwarded their findings to you. One of the most frightening things the wellness commission noted is that, 50% of Iowa's kids are overweight, 20% of those kids are morbidly obese.

This is why this session I have recommended we establish a minimum standard for physical activity in our schools. We will also partner with the American Diabetes Association and other groups to create a statewide focus on wellness for our children.

And we should take the steps necessary to replace unhealthy food choices in our schools; we need statewide effort to promote healthier school meals, and better options when it comes to vending machines.

...Speaking of infrastructure, we all know there are needs with our bridges and roads because of the density and age of our roads system. Addressing this issue is critical to our public safety, quality of life, and economy.

That's why I have directed the Department of Economic Development to come up with a long-range, comprehensive infrastructure plan for Iowa.

And we're not just talking about bridges and roads — we're looking at rivers, trails, walkways, rail, public buildings, schools, correctional facilities, and telecommunications.

We must address every facet of our 21st century infrastructure, to ensure that we continue to grow our economy and support the jobs of the future.

...A final challenge before us includes making sure we have a prepared workforce to meet the needs of the 21st Century.

We have all seen the data that showing our state will soon face a workforce shortage, unless we do something about it. That's why I recently convened the first-ever Governor's Workforce Summit to bring those affected by this challenge to the table to come up with solutions.

Based on this, I'm proposing we build a $5 million dollar science, technology, engineering, and math — or STEM — Center at the University of Northern Iowa.

This will help us double the number of math and science teachers in our public schools and make sure every high school graduate is ready for the jobs of the future.

In addition, I am asking you to join me in fully funding our successful community college level workforce training program, known as ACE.

And, to meet the needs of the workforce in the future, let's continue to do what we can to make college more affordable. One way to do this is by expanding the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship.

This new Needs-Based scholarship program has been very successful. Today, 179 students who have each received scholarship awards of up to $6,200 are now enrolled in universities and community colleges statewide who likely would not have been able to go without it.

Finally, we must raise the bar and expect more from our students in the classroom. We will do whatever it takes to expand Iowa's new Model Core Curriculum statewide standard by 2010 to every school district in our state. Our goal is simple, to teach our kids to "love to learn", to love to learn more chemistry, more physics, more algebra, and more trigonometry.

I am also interested in working with you to determine how we can best address issues related to educational equity.

Let's make sure that all Iowa students receive the same educational opportunities, regardless of geography, family income, or school district.

Kansas — Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D)
State of the State: January 14, 2008

...There are serious challenges facing our state and our nation. As Kansans, we are well-suited to face these challenges and capitalize on the opportunities. We start with some tremendous advantages: a resilient spirit; a strong work ethic; a shared belief in the power of education; a diverse and growing economy; and citizens in every corner of our state who believe in something greater than themselves.

...Innovation, the new ideas which change the way we work and live, is first and foremost powered by people. So we must redouble our efforts to educate and train ALL of our citizens for jobs in this new marketplace. Quality education is essential to a prosperous future. Over the past few years, we have kept — and increased - our commitment to educating every Kansas child. But there is still work to be done.

My budget contains funding for the third year of our historic investment in K-12 education. This will continue to ensure strong schools in every community across our state. And, I have proposed a fourth year of the school finance plan which includes all-day kindergarten.

We know that the most important factor in a child's success in the classroom is a well-trained and inspiring teacher. We will not have more scientists, engineers or skilled technicians without great teachers encouraging students to enter those critical fields. Therefore, I am proposing $1 million for new teaching scholarships in math, science and technology.

High-tech industries represent the fastest growing sector of our economy. Children like Kimberlin and Samuel will need a strong math and science education to prepare them to enter the workforce. My budget includes funding for the Kansas Academy of Math and Science. Opening in 2009 at Fort Hays State University, the academy will ensure that talented young Kansans have the opportunity to be the next generation of world-class innovators.

We know that early education is key to preventing school failure. We can't afford for any of our young Kansans to be so far behind that they never catch up by the time they enter kindergarten. My budget extends the state's network of quality early learning opportunities for children during their most formative years. We have the opportunity to make sure that more Kansas children have a successful start by funding pre-natal care and newborn screening, Parents as Teachers, Early Head Start and quality child care.

To further support our youngest Kansans, I am proposing a new Early Childhood Block Grant, driven by research-based programming and accountability measures, focused on at-risk children and under-served areas. The global economy will demand much of our children later in life. We can't afford to squander their earliest years of preparation and learning.

But our commitment to education cannot, and will not, end with the 12th grade. There has never been a time in our history where higher education has been more closely linked to the future prosperity of our state.

Kansas is blessed to be the home of world class research universities, four year colleges, community colleges, and vocational and technical training schools, still too many Kansans find the doors of opportunity barred by rising tuition costs, room and board expenses, and textbook prices.

My budget takes significant steps to make college more affordable. I am providing an additional $3 million in scholarship money to ensure that 2,000 more students can afford the opportunity to compete in our new innovation economy. There are also significant new state resources proposed for post-secondary education, to lower the costs for parents, students and Kansas families.

Last year I signed into law the Postsecondary Technical Education Authority to ensure Kansans are able to gain the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in the workforce. Collaboration between education leaders and the business community is underway, so that training for new and current workers matches the skill sets needed for the innovation economy.

Our economic strategy also must focus on the prospects and promise of rural Kansas communities. I am pleased to announce the first Center for Rural Opportunity recently opened at Sterling College. Soon, centers at Colby Community College and Neosho Community College will open, concentrating on attracting investment, job growth, and business development to our rural areas.

With us tonight are Joe Glassman, Chairman of the Postsecondary Technical Education Authority, and Dr Bruce Douglas, President of Sterling College, hosting the first Center for Rural Opportunity.

...My budget proposes the expansion of the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy. When completed, the capacity of the pharmacy school will nearly double, providing instruction to additional students, assisting with continuing education, and promoting residency programs in hospital pharmacies around this state.

Kentucky — Governor Steve Beshear (D)
State of the State: January 14, 2008

...We are blessed with dedicated teachers and administrators in our K-12 educational system, and with institutions of higher learning committed to excellence.

...Re-engineering Kentucky's economy from within must be among the highest priorities.

If we do this, we will be able to afford additional investments in education.

Maine — Governor John Baldacci (D)
State of the State: January 9, 2008

...Today, we have rebuilt our reserves to almost $160 million dollars, and no longer take out payday loans to keep government open.

We have closed that budget gap and by the end of next year we will have invested more than $1 billion new State dollars in local education.

And we have done it all without raising the sales tax or income tax.

I want to repeat that, because it's something the entire State should be proud of.

We have invested more than $1 billion new dollars in local education, rebuilt our reserves and stopped short-term borrowing.

If we are to have the resources to invest in higher education, economic development and universal health care, we cannot continue to spend millions on systems built in the 1950s.

Last year, the Legislature passed a truly historic reform of local education.

The new law reduces the number of school administrative units from 290 to 80.

School administrative units: That's a mouth full. It sounds very government-like, very bureaucratic.

That's because it is.

And that's the problem.

Since the early 80s, the number of students in Maine has declined by almost 40,000 and is expected to decline by 20,000 more in the next five years.

During the same time, the number of school administrators has increased by 400.

For 50 years, we have done the same old thing, the same old way, and it hasn't produced the excellence and results that we need.

It's not sustainable and drains resources from students and teachers.

Now we are on our way to a new structure that will better serve our people. It will save taxpayers money and provide a better education for our children.

Legislation introduced this year and already approved by the Education Committee will further strengthen the new law.

These brave men and women want the same things as you and I: A good job with benefits, a college education for their kids, and to know that their families are nearby and secure.

You could not have a first lady more committed to Maine's children, to education and to the State. She is a tireless advocate for literacy, and promotes Maine wherever she goes.

It's my goal that children start school ready to learn, and graduate from college ready and able to succeed here in Maine.

Early childhood was the heart of my economic Summit held in November. More than 200 Maine business and community leaders came together to understand the positive economic returns from early childhood investments.

I will continue to work with those Mainers to transform the Children's Cabinet Task Force on Early Childhood into a Children's Growth Council.

We can propel the powerful momentum of the Summit into our communities.

Through the power of community, we can create a legacy for our children.

Not long ago, Maine lost one of our most generous and inspiring leaders — speaking of children - Harold Alfond, the man who built Dexter Shoe.

It's impossible to estimate Harold's impact on Maine. He has touched so many lives and so many communities with his leadership and his philanthropy.

Harold challenged us all to do more, to build partnerships and to overcome hurdles.

Harold didn't go to college, but he recognized early on that the days of making a good living with just a high school diploma were disappearing.

But Harold wasn't blind to life's hard realities. For some families, the promise of college is financially out of reach.

With the Alfond College Challenge that he established, the dream is a little closer.

The Challenge provides a $500 dollar education grant to every child born in Maine that will help them start a college savings account.

It began last week in Augusta and will expand statewide in 2009. And no, you don't have to name your first child Harold.

Working through the Finance Authority of Maine and in cooperation with Maine's hospitals, families in this State will have been given a head start on higher education.

In his book, Harold wrote that he hoped to retire 10 years after he passed away. He was serious and Maine will be a much better place because of it.

Harold's son, Bill Alfond, and his wife, are in the gallery tonight. Please stand and be recognized by the Chamber.

Last year, the Legislature overwhelmingly approved Opportunity Maine, a tax credit program that will help students overcome college debt if they live and work in the State after graduation.

With these tax credits, we will keep more of our home-grown graduates here, and open the door of opportunity for the next generation of Maine entrepreneurs and leaders.

We are investing in education and innovation so our children and families can succeed here in our state.

We owe it to our children, and we owe it to our State.

Maryland — Governor Martin O'Malley (D)
State of the State: January 23, 2008

...Because of the $1.2 billion in cuts and spending reductions, and because of the other difficult choices on revenues, we are able to protect the priorities of our people — the priority of public education and school construction; the priority of public safety; the priority of more affordable health care.

We can once again hold the line against the rising cost of college tuition: hard-working families in Maryland should be able to afford to send their children to Maryland colleges.

Joining us in the gallery is a returning Marine who will attend the University of Maryland, College Park, using the Veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts Scholarship Program that you created. He is returning from his third tour of duty in Iraq, and I'd like us to acknowledge the presence today of United States Marine, Lance Corporal Will Amos.

On education, we must find better ways to recruit great principals to our most challenged schools, to improve outcomes in science, technology, engineering and math. We must do a better job of listening to our teachers in a regular systematic way so that we can constantly improve the learning process and working conditions that are so essential to retaining quality teachers. And we must rededicate ourselves to reducing our drop-out rate with better career and technical programs available to high schools in every district.

We can and must do better. Workforce is critically important to Maryland's economic future. We have to build a new system for educating our adults and harnessing the potential of our entire workforce. Every single person matters. There are Marylanders with disabilities who are talented, hardworking and want to get into the workforce with just a little bit of help and training. Also there are New Americans who remind us, in the words of Maryland's Harriet Tubman, that we were all once "strangers in strange land." We must also better align the education needs of our adults with the workforce needs of our employers. I urge you to support our proposal to bring our adult education system into the 21st Century.

Massachusetts — Governor Deval Patrick (D)
State of the State: January 24, 2008

...Our youngest daughter graduated from high school this past spring. And when I sat at her graduation, swollen with pride like every other parent, I couldn't help but reflect on the difference between her journey to that milestone, and my own to a similar milestone more than 30 years before.

You know my story. I grew up in poverty on the south side of Chicago. I went to broken and over-crowded schools. I can't think of a time when I didn't enjoy reading, but I don't ever remember actually owning a book. I got my own bed for the first time in my life when I came east on a scholarship to a boarding school in 1970. In that and so many other ways, coming to Massachusetts was like landing on a different planet.

Now Katherine, by contrast, has always had her own room. By the time she got to high school, she had already traveled on three continents, she knew how to pronounce and use a "concierge," and she had shaken hands in the White House with the President of the United States.

Diane and I talked easily and comfortably with our kids about college when the time came and organized visits for them to campuses all over the country. When I called home 35 years ago to tell my family I was admitted to Harvard, my grandmother asked, "Where is that, anyway?"

One generation. One generation and the circumstances of my life and family were profoundly transformed. That story is not unlike many of yours in this room or elsewhere in this Commonwealth. And though that story is still not told often enough still, it is told more often in this country than any other place on earth. That is the American Story.

For most of us, that story was made possible by a good education, great opportunities to work and develop our skills, and adults who involved themselves in our lives in key moments and ways.

That is our agenda: schools, jobs and civic engagement. That's what will make the American Story real again in this Commonwealth.

So, in 2007, we started to connect those aspirations to actions, and our actions to people. We are off to a very strong start. Massachusetts is on the move.

Last year we increased support for local schools by the highest amount in history. Because we also invested in pre-K, all-day kindergarten and longer school days, over 43 thousand children got the lifetime benefit of a strong academic start, and 9 thousand students had more time with teachers for both core studies and enrichment programs.

We added millions for science, technology, engineering and math grants, as well, to start giving our kids the skills they need to excel in tomorrow's global economy.

And our students are responding. Last year Massachusetts students took top scores in all four categories measured on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the so-called "national report card." My friends, Massachusetts is on the move.

...Because of you, all of you, whether in schools, jobs or civic engagement, Massachusetts is on the move.

But there is much more to do. Because the state of our Commonwealth is far better for some than for others.

Parents in many communities still face the painful choice of passing overrides or losing school programs.

High drop out rates and achievement gaps persist.

... Parents in cities find it hard to dream about college for their kids, and parents in suburbs have nightmares about how to pay for college for theirs.

...And I believe that an agenda based on schools, jobs and civic engagement is not only the way through today's economic uncertainty, but the way to write tomorrow's chapter in the American Story. And so I ask you to join with me in partnership to accelerate that agenda in 2008.

Let's start with education and invest in strategies that work. The budget we submitted yesterday commits a record $223 million more to support public schools.

We also propose significant increases in early education grants, all-day kindergarten programs, and extended learning time.

Let's give the 275,000 students and faculty in our public colleges and universities the quality labs, lecture halls and dormitories they deserve.

Support these budget initiatives, pass the higher ed bond bill, and let's make the American Story their story, too.

...As you consider our proposals, and how to support this agenda of schools, jobs and civic engagement, consider also the cost of inaction.

A poor child in high-quality early ed is 40% less likely to need special ed or to be held back a grade, 30% more likely to graduate from high school, and twice as likely to go to college. The cost of inaction is too high.

Michigan — Governor Jennifer Granholm (D)
State of the State: January 29, 2008

...I said we had to focus on four things: jobs, protecting our citizens, health care, and education.

No one doubts that the best way to ensure that Michigan's people will succeed in the face of global economic change is to ensure a quality education for every child and training for every worker.

Our goal: double the number of college graduates to give Michigan the best-educated workforce in the nation. To reach that goal, we'll make progress throughout our education system, from preschool to grad school to on-the-job training.

Next week, I'll introduce a budget that increases our investment in our K-12 schools and significantly expands early childhood education.

I'll also ask all of our school districts to begin offering full day kindergarten. This simple step will make a dramatic difference in the lives of our children. We want all our students to have a great start in school, because we want them to have great opportunities in life.

There are extremely limited opportunities, though, for the students who drop out of high school.

By some estimates, as many as a fourth of our high school students are at risk of dropping out before graduation day. This not acceptable in our Michigan.

In the weeks ahead, I urge this Legislature to raise the drop-out age to 18. I also urge you to pass legislation that will give our state superintendent broader authority to close high schools and other schools that consistently fail to meet academic goals.

But as important as those steps are, they're clearly not enough. That's why I have asked lawmakers from both parties and key education leaders to join me in solving our drop-out problem.

Senators Kuipers and Jelinek and Representatives Cushingberry and Melton, thank you for your wise counsel. Our work on this critical issue has just begun, but it has already helped to shape an important initiative.

My new budget will establish a 21st Century Schools Fund to replace large impersonal high schools that fail, with smaller schools that use firm discipline and strong personal relationships to help students reach high expectations.

Free from red tape and bureaucracy, these schools will deploy the new three Rs — rigor, relevance and relationships — to keep students in high school and then get them to college or technical training.

Our 21st Century Schools Fund will give school districts the resources they need to create high schools that work. A pioneering group of schools in Michigan is showing us today there is a better way.

In the past year, we created six early college high schools, which each partner with a major hospital in our state and a college or university.

Jalen Knox is here. He's 14. He's a freshman at Henry Ford Hospital's new school located in the hospital system in Detroit. In five years Jalen, and his classmates, will graduate not just with a high school diploma but with a two-year college degree. That's right - in just five years.

When Jalen graduates with his specialty in respiratory therapy, Henry Ford Hospital will hire him at a salary of about $50,000 a year. Now that's a school that's relevant to the workplace!

We have six of these schools in Michigan today — with our 21st Century Schools Fund, we could create 100 more tomorrow. We want every student in Michigan to leave high school with the skills it takes to succeed in college and the work place.

Thanks to the work of the Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth led by our Lt. Governor John Cherry, and bipartisan action by the Legislature, we are moving ever closer to our goal. We now have a record number of high school students in Michigan taking a college entrance exam, and a record number are eligible for our $4,000 Michigan Promise scholarship.

This year, our state universities are reporting record enrollment.

And now we are stepping it up. We're going to follow Kalamazoo's lead. In that city, anonymous donors promised full college tuition for every high school graduate, and already Kalamazoo has more students staying in high school and more going to college. And there's greater parent participation in the K-12 schools and new investment in the community.

Senator Van Woerkom and Representative Melton have sponsored bipartisan legislation that will soon expand the vision of the Kalamazoo Promise to communities across our state. Senator, Representative — thank you — I look forward to signing your bills.

As much as we want our students to succeed in our K-12 schools, we also want them to succeed in college. Unfortunately, far too many of our students enter college but don't graduate. The higher education budget I propose will take aim at that problem by rewarding colleges and universities when their students complete degrees. We'll also reward them when they create opportunity for low-income students, and when they find ways to turn research ideas into businesses. We will invest more in higher education and we will expect more in return.

Minnesota — Governor Tim Pawlenty (R)
State of the State: February 13, 2008

... We're number one in ACT scores, the percentage of adults with a high school diploma, and number two in the country in eighth grade math scores.

...All of us understand that the most important ticket to the future is the quality of the education our children receive. We should be proud of our Minnesota schools and educators. They have served us well. Our average student performance is at or near the top in most key measures.

However, we all know those averages don't tell the whole story, and that there is real room for improvement in our schools. There is much to be done, but let me outline a few proposals to help our students and the wonderful educators who dedicate their lives to teach them.

We know the most important indicator of how a child will do in school is the degree to which their parents are effectively engaged in their lives and their education. We should certainly promote, in every conceivable way, parent involvement and parent responsibility.

The second most important factor in determining how children will do in school is the effectiveness of their teachers.

We need to improve teaching and should start by expanding the talent pool for public educators in Minnesota. The teaching profession is no longer consistently attracting top talent through traditional career pathways. Predicted shortages of teachers with needed backgrounds like math and science are beginning to materialize.

Careers no longer progress in traditional or linear fashion in many instances. We need to do more to attract the best talent by encouraging and allowing mid-career professionals to enter the teaching profession with greater ease.

We should also do more to attract the most talented young people to teaching. We need to make it easier for such rising stars with needed subject matter expertise to have an alternative pathway into the profession, even though they may not have majored in education. Part of the attraction for these individuals will be a chance to spend some of their career in public service.

We will have a proposal to begin training a group of these new teachers and get them into the classroom as soon as possible. I am hopeful that the Legislature will support this important effort.

We also need to improve teacher training and evaluation. Rigorous and effective teacher training makes a big difference in student performance, and the current system of ongoing teacher training needs to be dramatically improved.

Much needs to be done, but let's prioritize by focusing on the area of most acute need and highest impact training for math and science teachers.

I'm grateful that last year the Legislature included funding for our regional math and science academies. However, we did not receive the amount needed or requested. These academies will give teachers specialized knowledge and enhanced skills that will improve student performance. I am asking that the funding for these academies be increased by 50 percent over the current budget level.

I am also proposing that we design and deploy a world-leading summer training institute for Minnesota's math and science teachers. The institute would feature world-class training in teaching methods, curriculum, technology, and subject matter mastery.

We should start by training 1,000 teachers over the next two summers. The entire cost would only be a few million dollars, but it will pay big dividends.

We also need to improve teacher evaluation and accountability.

In our current system, teachers have probationary status during their first three years. During that period of time, regular reviews are usually conducted and improvement plans are instituted.

However, once teachers receive tenure status, evaluation and accountability diminish in many districts across Minnesota.

We need to implement a system of post-tenure review. We can design this system in cooperation with the teacher unions, but it must get done. It should include annual evaluations, access to additional training for improvement, and a reasonable amount of time to correct deficiencies.

We also need to come to grips with the fact that most of our kids are leaving our school system in the dust when it comes to use of technology.

The power and efficiency of technology has hardly been tapped in our public K-12 system, but it's transforming almost every other institution and aspect of our lives.

You've heard me speak many times about how our school system needs to become an educational "iPod." We need to offer children with different backgrounds, learning styles, aptitudes, interests, and learning speeds a semi-customized supplement to their traditional learning environment through technology.

The economies of scale, variety of course offerings, quality control, and student attention-grabbing features of technology will revolutionize education within twenty years. The question for Minnesota is whether we want to lead or follow in this area.

I encourage anyone here to purchase or download one of today's state of the art video games with enhanced graphics and sound. Imagine that power being applied to fourth grade math or tenth grade social studies.

Let's get started by developing a world-class, digitally-stored, always-available, anywhere, anytime, jaw-dropping, eye-popping teaching toolbox accessible to all our teachers and students.

This would not be a state mandated curriculum. Rather, it would be a resource for students, teachers, and districts to use voluntarily to ensure they have access to the highest quality curriculum anywhere. Students could access it to get extra help, complete a course, take an exam, get credit, and speed ahead.

Mississippi — Governor Haley Barbour (R)
State of the State: January 21, 2008

...This year our K-12 schools are receiving more than $4.2 billion from state, federal and local sources . . . more than $8,500 for every child attending our public schools compared to $6,800 per child just four years ago. The state appropriation of more than $2.2 billion has increased $529 million in four years. That is an average increase of more than $130 million per year for K-12 schools alone.

Education is our top priority, but we must recognize we won't be able to increase K-12 spending nearly that much this session, unless you're willing to gut other critical programs, which I'm not.

Higher education also received record increases in state funding these last four years. Universities saw state funding go up by nearly one-third, and it was greatly needed after a seven percent cut in funding during the Musgrove administration.

Community colleges got cut even more when Musgrove was governor, and I'm proud that in my first administration state appropriations for community colleges went up fifty-two percent, including a more than doubling of state spending on workforce development and job training . . . a key to our job creation success.

I'm on record as favoring continued, large increases in funding higher education . . . increases similar to my first term; but I'll tell you right now, we can't afford that this year. The money won't be there.

My budget reflects the fact that public education is the number one economic development issue in our state, and it is the number one quality of life issue. My budget fully funds the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

Just as importantly, my budget funds education reforms so we can get better results for the money we spend. And that is the test in education. What are the results we demand and achieve for our children?

I will continue to support the State Superintendent's proposal to redesign high school, to make it more rigorous and especially more relevant to kids who are not on a path to college, as a way to attack our unacceptably high dropout rate.

To keep our best teachers, we should increase the salaries of teachers with more than 25 years experience. My budget will.

For our beginning teachers, we need to give them more support as they learn to manage a classroom full of kids. We lose a third of our new teachers within three years. As my Teacher Advisory Council has told me, more young teachers leave teaching because of discipline issues than over teacher pay. Every new teacher in our schools should have an experienced teacher serving as a mentor, and we should pay that mentor an extra $1,000 for this valuable service. It is more than worth it.

To help kids at risk of not succeeding, our schools should screen every first grader for dyslexia and other learning disabilities and get them treatment. Children must first learn to read before they can then read to learn, and that is so much harder if they are saddled with obstacles like dyslexia.

To help get our kids ready to learn by age five, we need to better utilize the existing early childhood programs that already serve 80% of our four-year-olds...by providing financial incentives for them to expand and improve their educational content.

The Legislature has already passed, and I have signed into law, these common sense reforms: authorizing mentors, dyslexia screening, and early childhood education. It is past time to put politics aside and fund these programs for our teachers and our children.

So that we can afford to continue making investments in all levels of education, including our universities and community colleges, we must make tough choices and run government smarter and more efficiently.

Missouri — Governor Matt Blunt (R)
State of the State: January 15, 2008

...As long ago as 1786, Thomas Jefferson articulated a principle that became a bedrock Missouri value. Jefferson wrote that "by far the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness." It was true then and it is true today. Education is the most important investment we can make in our own and in our children's future. It promotes our freedoms. It promotes our happiness, and, by creating opportunity, nurtures a society of rising prosperity.

Unfortunately, under the old way, education funding had become a pawn in budget battles. Students, teachers, and classrooms suffered under the way things were. When education was just an afterthought, it was easily sacrificed to cover out-of-control spending in other areas.

Missourians wanted a state government that would put classrooms, teachers, and, most importantly, students first. And that is what we have provided. Education funding is my highest budget priority.

By passing my budget, you will ensure, once again, that Missouri teachers and students have the resources they need to succeed. And when passed, we will have achieved a remarkable feat. By having the vision to look ahead and the fortitude to keep our commitments to the people of Missouri, we will have increased our total investment in education by $1.2 billion.

My budget recommendations this year include significant increases in funding at all levels — from pre-school to graduate school. Elementary and secondary schools receive an increase of $121 million, or more than 4 percent from last year. Missouri colleges and universities receive more than $54.2 million in direct funding, an increase of more than 6 percent. That includes funding to train more doctors, nurses, dentists, and pharmacists to meet the health care needs of Missourians.

Today's technology-driven economy places high value on skills in math, engineering, technology, and science. To ensure that the next generation enjoys even greater prosperity, we must provide our students with a world-class education in these subjects. We want our students to do more than merely keep up with their peers in other states and other countries. We want them to lead the world.

We have already taken several steps forward. We trained hundreds of Advanced Placement teachers and helped more students take Advanced Placement math and science tests. We built more technologically-advanced classrooms, and we funded after school programs in math and science.

Our changes are working. Academic performance is improving. Missouri fourth and eighth graders posted significant gains in the 2007 school year on national math tests. Missouri was one of only six states with fourth-graders who scored higher on all five sections of the national math exam. Missouri high school students also improved. A record 74 percent of Missouri seniors took the ACT last year, and they beat the national average.

These results are encouraging. But we must do more. I want our students to be better than above-average. I want Missouri students to be at the head of the class.

Tonight, I recommend increased investment in math and science education. I recommend three-quarters of a million dollars to train nearly 1,000 new Advanced Placement teachers and to help more than 6,000 Missouri students take Advanced Placement tests. I recommend $5 million to create 100 technologically-advanced classrooms and to equip 300 classrooms with advanced math and science curriculum. And I recommend $1.1 million for after-school programs, which help students learn, stay fit, stay safe, and stay out of trouble.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

Missouri colleges and universities were also neglected by the failed priorities of the old budgets. We needed to invest in better classrooms and labs, and we are doing so. Last year, for the first time ever, in order to protect Missouri families from future unreasonable tuition hikes, we capped tuition increases, and we launched the Lewis & Clark Discovery Initiative. Thus far, we have invested $289 million for dozens of world-class learning centers to better compete with rival states.

This year, I recommend further investment. I request $31 million for construction, renovation, and improvement of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at the University of Missouri, and another $15 million for the Pharmacy and Nursing Building at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

I also recommend continued increases in scholarship funding. My budget includes more than $25 million for A+ student scholarships, helping more than 20,000 Missourians attend community colleges, nearly double the program's funding since January of 2005. And it includes even more significant increases in needs-based scholarships.

When I took office, Missouri state government spent just $25 million on needs-based scholarships for Missouri students. We created the Access Missouri Scholarship initiative to simplify the application process for students, and we dramatically increased funding. Before Access Missouri, we issued 16,400 scholarships to Missouri students. So far this year, with Access Missouri, we have helped more than 36,000 students.

One of those students is here tonight. I would like to introduce you to Traci Clark. Traci is a nursing student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. During a recent visit to UMSL, Traci told me that her daughter Bree inspired her to go back to school, and that Access Missouri was vital to make college affordable, and her dreams come true. Traci is a great example of how the Access Missouri scholarship is allowing Missouri students to reach their full potential and be of service to our fellow Missourians in the years to come. Thank you for being here, Traci and Bree.

Tonight, I recommend $100 million for Access Missouri scholarships — quadrupling our investment in needs-based scholarships during my administration. This four-fold increase in scholarship funding will expand opportunity for thousands of Missourians studying to make their lives better and Missouri more prosperous.

The funding recommendations in my budget will provide our schools, teachers, and students with significant resources to be successful now and in the future. Unlike in the past, we will not leave our schools, teachers, or students scraping for left-overs. And I will keep my pledge to never withhold funds that you appropriate for our public schools. We had a vision for a better future. We set priorities. We led. We maintained the resolve necessary to implement positive change. We will continue to advance. With this budget, over four years, we will have invested an additional $1.2 billion in education.

Nebraska — Governor David Heineman (R)
State of the State: January 15, 2008

...Competing in a free market economy also requires a pre-kindergarten through college education system that is accountable, affordable, efficient, and student focused. Education is the great equalizer and every Nebraska child deserves the opportunity to achieve a quality education.

Accountability requires measuring school district academic success and Nebraska needs a simplified student measurement system for comparing school district performance. The goal is better testing, not more testing. School district leaders need to focus their time and energy on closing the academic achievement gap. More parents need to be involved in their children's education. More rigorous academic standards are needed in our schools and overall academic performance must be improved.

State aid to education should be predictable and sustainable. State aid is one of our most important responsibilities and that's why I have recommended fully funding the formula every year that I have been Governor. As we look to the future, it is important that Nebraska has an understandable, stable and affordable school funding formula. This is the long-term challenge that we must address. Nebraska has a very good K-12 education system and we must make it even better in the future.

Nebraska's higher education system should also be more accountable, more integrated and more efficient. The University of Nebraska, our state colleges and our community colleges can work together in a more cooperative manner. Increasing the college attendance rate is critical. Increased enrollments and revenues to our colleges through innovation like UNO's differential tuition rate to attract more students to the University of Nebraska at Omaha are important. Thank you to President Milliken and Chancellor Christensen for your innovation.

The University of Nebraska is a key component to Nebraska's future and they must redefine their priorities to reflect the education and financial challenges of the 21st century. Expanded enrollment means increased tuition revenue growth which is necessary given the fiscal realities of the state budget. I believe the University of Nebraska can successfully address its future challenges because of its exceptional leadership team.

New Hampshire — Governor John Lynch (D)
State of the State: January 22, 2008

...All parents dream of better lives for their children, and they know that education is the key to making those dreams come true. An educated workforce is also the key to our state's future.

To keep New Hampshire a national leader, we must give all of our children the very best education possible, including helping more of our young people go on to higher education.

And that's what we're doing. We doubled a University System scholarship program to give the neediest New Hampshire students two years free tuition. And to help families save on tuition costs, we expanded Project Running Start, which allows high school students to earn college credits right at their own schools.

We've expanded early learning programs. We increased alternative learning programs to help more of our young people graduate from high school. And we raised the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18, sending a powerful message to our young people that we will not give up on them; and we won't let them give up on themselves.

And we met our responsibility to define an adequate education. An education that begins with kindergarten.

Education is all about opportunity. The opportunity we provide all our children to have better lives and better futures. Right now, not every child in New Hampshire has an equal opportunity for a quality education. Children in wealthier communities have more opportunities than children in other communities.

I appreciate the work of the costing commission this legislature created last year, but it is working under the constraints of Supreme Court decisions. Those constraints are preventing us from putting in place the best possible education plan.

We do have a responsibility to ensure all our children have an opportunity for a quality education. But it is not good policy to send the same base amount of education aid to every school district before we help the schools that really need it. Yet that is what the Supreme Court has said we must do. That type of approach does not reduce the inequity that exists between schools. It only widens disparities and maintains the status quo.

I believe we must pass a constitutional amendment to allow us to direct more aid to communities with greater needs. Now we must come together to develop an amendment that lets us do the right thing for our kids. And we must not let unreasonable demands or partisan politics interfere with that goal.

I also believe that, after 10 years, the best chance for us to move forward on education funding is to give the people a say. Whether you are for or against an amendment, let the people vote.

Let's give all our children, no matter where they live, the opportunity for a good education and a better life.

New Jersey — Governor Jon Corzine (D)
State of the State: January 8, 2008

...Late last night, the 212th legislature, on a truly bipartisan basis, took on an issue ducked and debated for years and passed a historically, educationally sound and, I certainly hope, constitutionally appropriate school aid formula.

This new formula will improve all of our schools ...it will help unify our citizens ...and it will demonstrate to the public that government can work to provide for the common good.

...Yes ... we need to make every school one of excellence ... but we do lead the nation in preschool enrollment, produce top scores for 4th graders, record the best high school graduation rate, and have among the best colleges and universities in the nation.

We know the world is becoming more competitive ... but New Jersey has the best educated citizenry in America with the most graduate-degreed citizens per capita.

New Mexico — Governor Bill Richardson (D)
State of the State: January 15, 2008

...Our sound financial management of our Permanent Funds has allowed us to invest more than $3 billion into New Mexico schools and taxpayers.

And I'd like to assure those who opposed the investment into our schools — our Permanent Funds have grown from $9 billion to $15 billion dollars and our schools are benefiting from that investment.

But our top investment remains education.

Over the last five years, we've invested more than $245 million dollars to pay our teachers better and now 94 percent of all core courses are taught by a highly qualified teacher.

Today, I'm proposing we spend an additional $60 million dollars to continue to increase teacher and educational employee salaries.

We've already seen the results of our Voluntary Pre-K program with children entering elementary school with better vocabulary, and improved early math and reading skills.

I'm proposing that we create Pre-K opportunities for an additional 2,000 children, which will help us close the achievement gap — before it starts.

And we are investing another $211 million dollars to improve and modernize our elementary, middle and high schools.

I'm asking for $152 million to build state of the art facilities for our university and college campuses.

We must continue our progress on making sure every child has a healthy breakfast, mandatory physical education, and arts education — whether they live in an urban area or the most rural setting.

Two years ago we worked together to guarantee sustained funding in the arts.

I ask that we maintain our commitment to the arts so it remains a key part of every child's education.

For those schools identified as needing improvement, we won't give a bad grade and walk away.

Instead, we are going to try to help these schools.

We are going to apply new academic approaches.

We are going to provide new incentives for success.

And we are going to boost hands-on training for teachers.

And these school children will graduate better prepared to face a new economic future.

In the last five years, my administration and the Legislature have worked together to shape the future these children will face.

It's been said that the future doesn't belong to the faint of heart, it belongs to the brave and it belongs to the bold.

Our investment into Spaceport America will open the heavens to brave adventurers, and will mean thousands of jobs for southern New Mexico.

I believe the Spaceport will also inspire many of our kids to study math and science.

New York — Governor Eliot Spitzer (D)
State of the State: January 9, 2008

...Without world class education, we cannot have a world class economy. Last year we focused on pre-school to grade twelve. This year, we must also look beyond high school to our colleges and universities.

Look at the strides we have already made. "C-F-E" used to stand for an endless lawsuit. Today, it stands for Contracts for Excellence. We guaranteed access to universal Pre-K, something my friend Shelly Silver has sought for years. It has already changed the lives of over 30,000 children.

We made the single-largest education investment in New York's history. We assured that this new investment would be distributed fairly. Most important, we tied it to accountability. For our kindergarten to twelfth grade students, our plan for education involves a simple equation: Investment plus accountability equals excellence.

Almost half of the State's students are now learning in schools that have signed Contracts for Excellence. These Contracts do something we have never done before; they guarantee that our investment will be spent on reforms proven to work — smaller classes, more time in school, and teacher training.

And look at the results: Sixteen schools in Buffalo have an extra hour in class each day and an extra 20 days of school each year; some classes are as small as 10 students. Elementary school teachers in Schenectady are mentored by Master Teachers, and all their middle schoolers are enrolled in smaller classes. Twenty-eight schools in Rochester have classes on Saturdays. Each district can and has crafted a unique solution to its unique problems.

Our children's potential is unlimited. When we give them the right tools, they do extraordinary things. I've seen it. Two high school students on Long Island won a national competition for research that, remarkably, could lead to a cure for tuberculosis. When they explained it to an audience of a thousand, none of us understood a word of it, but boy was it impressive. When I visited a robotics competition, kids from around the State were so energized and excited about their inventions; it had the feel of a BCS bowl game. When I visited IS 123, the students' eyes lit up as they talked about how much more they could learn in the smaller classes. If we give them the tools, these kids will be ready for the innovation economy. Some of those students are here today, and I'd like to recognize them. They have committed to study. Let us commit to invest.

TOWARDS EVEN GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY

This year, with the support of the Regents, our partners in this effort, we will take education accountability to the next level. We will set improvement targets for specific school districts, and for specific schools. We will track the progress of individual schools every single year, and we will intervene in districts and in schools that are still failing. We will finally give children the education they need, and that their parents expect.

HIGHER EDUCATION

While these proposals have put us on the path toward excellence in our primary and secondary schools, we have not yet set our colleges and universities on the same course.

If you want to participate in the innovation economy, a high school diploma is not always enough — you're going to need a college diploma, or better yet, an advanced degree. We can't strengthen our economy without the best colleges producing the best-prepared graduates. That's why our goal must be to make an outstanding higher education affordable for every New Yorker.

Last year, I convened a Commission on Higher Education to recommend what we need to do to make America's largest public system of higher education one of its very best. Last month, they spoke. Today, you and I need to begin acting on their recommendations.

Over the next five years, we must hire 2,000 new full-time faculty members for SUNY and CUNY, including 250 eminent scholars — the type of professors whose research draws grants and collaboration from around the globe, and whose stature lifts entire campuses.

We must create an Innovation Fund for cutting-edge research at New York's public and private colleges, similar to the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. Supercharging cutting-edge academic research will also supercharge our innovation economy.

We must invest in our community colleges, which train New Yorkers for high-skilled jobs and serve as the gateway to four-year colleges. For the community college students who want to continue their education by transferring to four-year SUNY and CUNY schools, we will make the process simple and seamless, and give them full credit for the academic courses they have successfully completed.

Made wisely, these investments in higher education will also revitalize cities. We will move forward on the University of Buffalo's "2020" expansion as a centerpiece of our strategy to reinvigorate the economy of Western New York. When completed, the University's total student population will grow from 29,000 to almost 41,000. Over 7,000 students, faculty and staff will work and study on a new downtown campus for medicine and health sciences. UB will become an economic engine for Buffalo, and a flagship institution for a world class public university system.

We will create a flagship at the other end of our state, as well. We will help bring together the University at Stony Brook, and the world renowned Brookhaven and Cold Spring Harbor laboratories. The result will be a peerless cross-disciplinary research engine in the areas of cancer, neurobiology, plant genetics and bioinformatics. The economic benefit for Long Island will be tremendous. The chance for New York to lead the world will be unparalleled.

ENDOWING HIGHER EDUCATION

But none of this is possible unless we figure out a way to pay for it. And to do that, we need a new funding source. The finest private and public colleges and universities in America use the funds from permanent endowments to achieve excellence. If we are to join their ranks, we must do so as well. Higher education funding should no longer be a budgetary pawn or a yearly battle. It must be a permanent priority.

Given the investments we must make and the sheer size of our higher education system, this endowment initially should be at least $4 billion, which would generate $200 million in operating funds each year.

Where's the money going to come from? We should unlock some of the value of the New York State Lottery, either by taking in private investment or looking at other financing alternatives. As we do this, we will assure that the State continues to regulate all lottery games, and that we continue to receive the more than $2 billion annually for K to 12 education that the lottery now provides. Today's endowment dollars will be a down payment on tomorrow's dreams.

This is our plan for education. Funding our primary and secondary schools in a fair and effective way, using accountability to measure progress and identify where improvement is needed, and creating an endowment for our State universities to propel them into international centers of research and learning, and into engines of economic growth.

Ohio — Governor Ted Strickland (D)
State of the State: February 6, 2008

...Because there is no better way to strengthen our people and our state than investing in education, we made a commitment that begins with preschool and continues through adulthood.

In early care and learning, we expanded funding, access, and quality.

In primary and secondary education, we increased state funding by approximately $600 million dollars. In fact, we increased the state's share of education spending from 48 to 54 percent.

We funded the construction of 250 new schools. And each of those new schools will be built to meet nationally recognized standards of energy efficiency. That means not only a cleaner environment, but long-term cost savings for the life of those school buildings.

We froze tuition at Ohio's public colleges and universities for two years. Instead of the typical 9 percent annual increase, Ohio students and their families paid the same tuition this year that they paid last year...

... Higher education is a major driver of our economy. Our colleges and universities provide the workers, the ideas and jobs that our state needs to grow.

Ohio used to have one of the most highly educated workforces in the country, but that is no longer true. It is clear that we must increase the number of college graduates in Ohio if our citizens are going to have good jobs and rising incomes in the coming years.

Our Chancellor of Higher Education is required to construct a ten-year plan for Ohio's colleges and universities. While that work continues, I want to share with you some of the most important commitments we will make in this plan. These commitments will reshape the future of our schools and our state.

Last year we created the University System of Ohio. Our public colleges and universities will maintain their unique character and strengths. But as members of the University System, all of our schools will be united by a common mission to serve the state and its people.

Ohio has universities that are recognized as national and international leaders in their fields. These universities keep our young people here and attract talent from around the globe. They spur innovations that lead to new jobs. Our plan will raise the quality of all our academic programs, and will guarantee that anyone who is prepared and qualified will be able to afford to go. We will do this by operating creatively and efficiently, building centers of excellence, and increasing the amount of funds we raise publicly and privately for financial aid.

But to expand the number of college graduates in Ohio, we must also build a system that is flexible enough to serve the potential students we are missing. Many Ohioans who are interested in furthering their education are not able to spend the traditional four years on one of Ohio's main university campuses. Many are working full-time or caring for a family, or both.

Forty years ago, Governor Rhodes saw the changing industrial economy and understood that Ohioans could no longer go from high school to the factory floor. And so he launched a grand project to build a community college, technical college or regional campus within thirty miles of every Ohioan.

Thanks to Jim Rhodes' foresight, we have a higher education infrastructure that rivals any state in the nation. Today, our challenge is to better use that infrastructure. We must provide Ohioans what they need to succeed in the 21st century — access to high-quality, affordable associate and bachelor's degrees.

Today I'm announcing that the ten-year plan for the University System of Ohio will guarantee that a high quality associate and bachelor's degree in the academic fields necessary to land a good job will be available on a campus within thirty miles of every Ohioan.

Let's take the case of a 25 year-old working mom in Middletown. She needs classes taught nearby, at times that fit her schedule. Today she has access to a wide range of associate degree programs at Miami University's regional campus. But to complete a bachelor's degree in most fields she would have to go elsewhere. Under our plan, two great schools, Miami University and Sinclair Community College, are working together to expand the number of associate and bachelor's degrees — all in Middletown.

When our plan is fully implemented, this young mother will have access to all the classes needed to earn an associate degree and a bachelor's degree, right near her home and her family.

Our plan will turn the cost of her education on its head. For students seeking a bachelor's degree, Ohio is now among the ten most expensive states. Under our plan, the young mother in Middletown — and every Ohioan — will have access to a high-quality bachelor's degree that will rank among the ten least expensive in the nation.

Middletown is just one example. We have invited schools all over the state to partner together in fulfilling this vision, and they have responded eagerly.

Another thing we must do to increase the number of college graduates in Ohio is to stop thinking about high school as an end in itself. Whether through college or technical training, our young people must be brought up with the expectation that they need to continue their education beyond high school.

Building on the existing Post Secondary Enrollment Options plan, today I am announcing that I have directed the Chancellor to give every twelfth grader who meets the academic requirements a choice of spending their senior year in their home high school, or spending it on a University System of Ohio campus.

Tuition for the year will be free.

We will begin enrolling students in this plan for the upcoming school year. Participating seniors will then graduate from high school ready to start their sophomore year in college. In fact, students will receive their high school diploma and one full year of college credits at the same time. The credits will transfer in full to public institutions, as well as many private colleges.

I call this initiative Seniors to Sophomores. Its goal is to raise the aspirations of all students, to challenge students who might feel disengaged from their high school studies, and to help students who want to accelerate their college education. And, just think about the effect on a family's budget when they save the cost of an entire year of college tuition.

Now, some think of primary and secondary education in Ohio as a problem to be solved. But our schools are not problems, they are solutions.

In fact, there is much good news about our schools.

Just last month Education Week's report card on the nation's schools placed Ohio 7th among the 50 states.

In September, results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that Ohio ranked in the top 10 in all four of its measures.

We're grateful for the efforts of our students and our teachers who have made us all proud. And we are thankful for the countless leaders in this state, including many in this chamber, whose efforts have strengthened education in Ohio.

But while we are holding our own with most states, we have not kept pace with much of the world. And we still must work to ensure that all our schools can meet the needs of all our students in this globally competitive environment.

Since I was sworn in as governor, I have met with dozens of groups to discuss education. I have listened to educators, business leaders, researchers, parents, and many others. I have considered their experiences and the evidence they have marshaled, and taken heed of a lifetime of observations the First Lady and I have made.

All these discussions have led me to embrace the following vision for our schools: we must create learning environments that foster and nurture creativity, innovation, and global competency.

And I have developed six core principles that will guide our efforts to achieve that vision.

First, we cannot address our education challenges without strengthening our commitment to public education. As a practical matter, the vast majority of Ohio children are and always will be educated in the public school system.

Second, a modern education must be directly linked to economic prosperity. Ohio cannot thrive without understanding that world class schools will produce a talented workforce, and a talented workforce will attract and create jobs.

Third, we need to identify the great strengths of our schools. There are features in our education system that the rest of the world seeks to emulate, and we must build on these triumphs.

We excel internationally in our ability to foster creativity and innovation. These skills fuel a lifetime of success, especially in an evolving global economy.

Ohio schools produced the minds that created Superman, with his fictional X-Ray vision, and the mind that invented the MRI, giving doctors the very real ability to painlessly view inside the human body. Ohioans are visionaries, but practical as well. It wasn't long after a pair of Ohioans invented the airplane that another Ohioan invented the parachute.

Our schools must teach students to think past the limits of what's been done, and imagine what could be done.

Fourth, our best teachers can show us what works best in the classroom. We need to consult them and follow their lead.

Great teachers can be a resource not only for their students but for their fellow educators. We should support these teachers by giving them the freedom to stay in the classroom and still be rewarded for sharing their expertise with their peers. We lose a lot of new teachers — as many as half of all new teachers leave the profession in the first 5 years — but we can help keep these talented people by giving them better access to senior colleagues.

Fifth, we must strive to develop a specific, personalized education program that identifies how each individual student learns and uses the teaching methods appropriate to that student's needs and abilities.

The great educator and philosopher John Dewey described this idea many years ago. He wrote that we must shift "the center of gravity" in schools. It's a "revolution, not unlike that introduced by Copernicus when the astronomical center shifted from the Earth to the sun. In this case, the child becomes the sun around which the appliances of education revolve."

And sixth, testing and assessment will continue to answer accountability questions. But their most important role will be to guide personalized and individualized education through a comprehensive and ongoing understanding of a student's capabilities and weaknesses and growth in the educational process.

I will be guided by these principles as I draft my plan not only for funding, but also for reforming our schools.

I will follow these principles in pursuit of a clear standard: schools that ra