2007 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Education
Ted Strickland:
State Contribution to Local Schools will reach 54 percent
The foundation funding per pupil amount will be increased by 3% in each of the next two years. The budget will focus the state’s aid formulas to put the emphasis on meeting students’ needs, increase parity aid by 8% over two years, and targets
it to the 60% of districts most in need. The budget will increase poverty-based assistance by 22% over the biennium, and increases access to early learning opportunities by opening programs to those whose families make up to 200% of poverty.
Source: 2007 State of the State Address
Mar 14, 2007
Ted Strickland:
Zero tuition increase in ‘08; Less than 3% increase in ‘09
Today, the state spends less on instructional support for our universities than it did in 2001. Governor Strickland’s budget proposes a Higher Education Compact in which state will increase funding for the basic instructional subsidy by 5 percent
next year, and 2 percent the following year and public universities and colleges will agree to no tuition increase in 2008 and less than a 3 percent increase in 2009.
Source: 2007 State of the State Address
Mar 14, 2007
Charlie Crist:
Propose $3.8 billion to reduce class size
I have proposed in my budget 3.8 billion dollars to meet the constitutional mandate of the class size amendment. This is a 19% increase over the current budget level and would bring state funding for the last five years to 10.7 billion dollars.
Smaller classes provide a better environment for learning and we must fulfill our obligation to provide that funding to reduce class sizes.
Source: 2007 State of the State Address
Mar 6, 2007
Phil Bredesen:
$48M for state colleges for tuition, & $10M scholarships
To support a comprehensive strategy on education, Bredesen made the following proposals to the General Assembly:- $120 million for at-risk students in K-12, to fully fund the state's share of these costs
- $27 million for student growth needs in
local school districts, to fully fund the state's share of these costs
- $48 million to keep tuition increases at state colleges and universities modest
- $10 million to offer free community college tuition to high school students who make an average
score of 19 on the ACT, 19 on the math component and 19 on the test's reading component
- $9.3 million to increase Tennessee's Hope Scholarships to $4,000 annually
- $48 million to fund operating increases in Tennessee's higher education system
- Implementation of ACT testing for 8th and 10th grade students, to assess their academic needs early on and design individual learning plans to help them graduate on time and ready for work or college
Source: 2007 State of the State address to Tennessee legislature
Feb 5, 2007
Jim Gibbons:
Gauge the demands of introducing full-day kindergarten
Although full-day kindergarten has been labeled a top priority, the fiscally responsible approach is to continue to support the existing pilot program at current funding levels in at-risk schools and, therefore, I have committed $50 million to
do so. I support maintaining this pilot program and look forward to utilizing the next 24 months to assess its benefits, and to gauge the infrastructure demands of introducing full-day kindergarten throughout the state.
Source: 2007 State of the State Address
Jan 22, 2007
Sarah Palin:
Fully fund K-12 and support early funding of education
My budget includes fully funding the “K through 12” foundation formula. In addition, I’ve included more than $200 million in new dollars to cover the increased retirement costs for local school districts, so that more local school district dollars get
into the classroom, where the money belongs. We’re facing a potential $10 billion PERS/TRS retirement plan shortfall that affects local schools. Our $200 million dollar line item for school districts is part of the half BILLION dollar proposal to help th
districts, local governments and the state alleviate the pension plan burden while we work with the Legislature on a long-term solution. I’ve also committed to help provide local school districts with more predictability, for better planning by
supporting “early funding of education.” I’ll introduce a separate education appropriation bill and ask that it’s passed. Our local school districts deserve to know what they have to work with early enough for them to create efficiencies through planning
Source: 2007 State of the State Address to 24th Alaska Legislature
Jan 17, 2007
Jon Huntsman:
To produce first-rate students, pay for first-rate teachers
Our strong economy now allows us the opportunity to fortify our foundations for the future. These foundations--which include education, the economy, quality of life, and governance--each has a set of reinforcing fundamentals.
The first foundation is education.When I speak of focusing on our fundamentals, I speak of teacher compensation. Teaching must be reinforced as being among the most noble of pursuits. We must compensate fairly those who inspire our next generation of
Utahns. If we hope to produce first-rate students, we must have first-rate teachers.
Educational excellence begins with the recruitment, retention and commitment of teachers who are passionate about educating our youth--the only future we have.
I refuse to stand by idly as we lose good educators to other states in our region. Together with my colleagues in the legislature, we have made significant strides in bolstering education the last two years. We can do more. We must do more.
Source: Utah 2007 State of the State address
Jan 16, 2007
Tim Kaine:
We raised teacher pay & required regular teacher evaluations
When we work together, we produce results for all Virginians. Together, we've reduced taxes and invested in job creation. As a result, we have a low unemployment rate, a low tax burden, and we've been recognized as the most business-friendly state in
America.Together, we raised teacher pay, required regular teacher evaluations and invested in community colleges and higher education research. As a result, national publications and rankings acknowledge that our K/12 and higher education
systems are among the best in the nation. In fact, Education Week recently published an extensive survey indicating that children born in Virginia have a better chance for life success than those born in any other state in this nation.
Together, we've helped make health insurance more available to small businesses and expanded children's access to health care services. As a result, more Virginia children are getting the health care they need.
Source: 2007 State of the State address to Virginia Assembly
Jan 10, 2007
Tim Kaine:
Include private & church schools in kindergarten & pre-K
Education Week pointed out only two areas where Virginia was not among the nation's best--the number of children in kindergarten and the number in pre-K. We must act on our knowledge that investing in early childhood education delivers significant
savings for our entire society down the road.Studies show that 90% of a child's brain development occurs before the age of five. And that high-quality pre-kindergarten programs can have a dramatic effect on all children's readiness for school and
can reduce expensive remedial education and social costs later in life. The gains are most pronounced for at-risk students, but there are clear benefits for all children who get an early start in a high-quality environment.
I have proposed pilot projects to expand the Virginia Preschool Initiative by including high quality private pre-school programs, including church programs, in our efforts to expand early learning.
Source: 2007 State of the State address to Virginia Assembly
Jan 10, 2007
Page last updated: Nov 30, 2018