Governor's State of the State speeches, early 2000s: on Education
Haley Barbour:
More local control over schools
Our record funding of education is important, but the true test of our commitment to education is not how much we spend; it is the results we demand & achieve for our students. The taxpayers rightly expect us to get their money’s worth for what we spend.
Reforms passed last year will help, such as giving local leaders more control over their schools. This year, I ask to expand funding an early childhood education initiative that builds on the network of private child care and Head Start centers.
Source: State of the State address to 2007 state legislature
Jan 15, 2007
Tim Kaine:
Expand need-based financial aid & Tuition Assistance Grants
Our network of community colleges, four-year colleges and universities plays a vital role in both our education system and our economic prosperity. The introduced budget includes significant additional funding for these schools to
help them absorb over 56,000 new students by the year 2012. Further, I support the expansion of need-based financial aid and increases in Tuition Assistance Grants for students at our independent colleges contained in the introduced budget.
Source: State of the State 2006 address to Virginia Assembly
Jan 16, 2006
George Pataki:
Expand charter schools throughout the state
Our Charter Schools have been a great success--competition works. Now, let's build on that success by dramatically expanding charter schools throughout the entire state.Let's give middle school students an academic boost--let's provide
them with new math and science summer programs at our community colleges all across the Empire State. Together, let's make a New York education an invaluable competitive advantage for our next generation.
Source: State of the State address to 2006 New York Legislature
Jan 4, 2006
Jeb Bush:
A+ Plan: Make "F" schools disappear; make more "A" schools
There were 78 "F" schools in 1999. They illustrate the sad consequence of low expectations and little accountability. They were 78 sites that held the buried potential of thousands of our schoolchildren.But look what happens to the "F" schools in the
two years since we implemented the A+ Plan. They are gone. They have disappeared.
In 1999, only 21% of our schools were high-performing "A" and "B" schools. Now there are twice as many high-performing schools, 41% in all. With the A+ Plan, we have
nearly doubled the number of high-performing schools in Florida. We have provided a first-rate education for hundreds of thousands more students.
To help build on the successes of the A+ Plan, we must continue to increase funding for our schools.
This includes--in the K-12 system--an 18 percent, $2 billion increase in student funding for Florida's public schools over the last three years. We should continue this trend, and so this year I am proposing we greatly increase total K-20 funding.
Source: State of the State address to 2002 Florida Legislature
Jan 22, 2002
Jeb Bush:
Push for gains among minority and disadvantaged students
With the A+ Plan, we have nearly doubled the number of high-performing schools in Florida. And better still, we have made some of our greatest gains among minority and disadvantaged students. Last year's average gains on the FCAT for grades 8 and 10 in
math were higher for African-American and Hispanic students. Let me be clear, we still have a long way to go, and the achievement gap between ethnic groups is still too large, as it is across the nation. But these results demonstrate that we can make
progress, and we must keep our commitment to leave no child behind. We are beginning to win this fight.But now is not the time to grow complacent. School grades will now measure the annual learning gains of students, which was part of the original
vision of the A+ Plan. Now, in addition to tougher standards in reading and math, schools will be held accountable as well as rewarded for the progress of their lowest performing students. We must continue to push the envelope.
Source: State of the State address to 2002 Florida Legislature
Jan 22, 2002
Jeb Bush:
Social promotion doesn't do our kids any favors
We must conclusively address the issue of social promotion so that we once and for all eliminate the practice of advancing students because of their age rather than their knowledge. The A+ Plan sought to eliminate social promotion, but many of
Florida's school districts have failed to comply with the intent of the law. We aren't doing our kids any favors when we challenge them with advanced material before they've mastered the basics.
I propose we give the social promotion language some teeth so that school districts won't give up on teaching our kids how to read. The best solution, of course, is to remediate struggling readers during the school year, to get them
the extra help they need to stay on track. But for school districts that continue to circumvent the intent of the law, there should be consequences, perhaps including the withholding of administrative funds.
Source: State of the State address to 2002 Florida Legislature
Jan 22, 2002
Christie Todd Whitman:
Improve education with choice, charter schools, & character
Families can now opt to send their kids to one of over 60 charter schools. Others can take advantage of our school choice program. Our schools need to instill values that are timeless. We have to teach our kids values like respect and responsibility.
Let’s choose character education programs and make them available to every school district.
Source: State of the State address, Jan. 11, 2000
Jan 11, 2000
Page last updated: Mar 14, 2021
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