2009 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Education

Jon Huntsman: UCAT system: technical college for industry needs

The Utah College of Applied Technology was created to be responsive to industry and meet the demands of a growing technical workforce. While there are still issues to be ironed out, but we all agree on the goal: a UCAT system that is more responsive to real-time business needs and is more accessible to Utah's students.

Jon Huntsman: Early learning is critical; so are languages & math

We are leading the nation in educating our kids in 21st century languages like Chinese and Arabic. So, to the thousands of students studying Mandarin Chinese I say: Gongx gongx. "Congratulations!"

Yet, our kids' literacy in these critical foreign languages must be matched by their mastery of numbers, an area that is in need of strengthening. We must keep pace. Through additional emphasis and reprioritizing, I have asked both public and higher ed to make this year the "Year of Math."

Rick Perry: Best teachers, accountability, math & science prep

1. They deserve the best teachers. Nothing matters more to student success than having an excellent teacher in every classroom. That is why we worked so hard to create the largest teacher incentive pay program in the country, one that will pay out more than $147 million to teachers and staff by the end of this school year.
2. We must hold our schools accountable for student performance. As you consider changes to the accountability system, make sure it keeps moving students along the path to graduating "college & career ready" while keeping parents and taxpayers informed.
3. Let's keep improving our math & science education, and continue preparing our young people, especially low-income & minority students, for a productive life after high school.

Sarah Palin: 3-year plan: $1B for early learning, vo-tech, accountability

We'll fully forward-fund all our school districts with more than a billion dollars--that's more than 21% of General Fund expenditures. Education is that high a priority. We'll focus on early learning, vo-tech and workforce development, an enhanced University, streamlined operations, we'll hold schools accountable, and we'll encourage opportunities for students with special needs.

Tim Kaine: Increase K-12 school funds despite 3 rounds of budget cuts

However, education is the single largest expenditure in the state budget and we will not be able to continue to leave education untouched in 2010.

I decided that nothing in our schools was as important to the students as their teachers and principals, and so I have made a proposal that protects our core priority--the classroom. My proposal is to reduce funding for administrative and support personnel in schools and central offices by applying a funding cap for these positions. For years we've applied a cap to determine the number of teachers and principals we fund--we should do the same for support staff.

Tim Kaine: No mid-year tuition increases at state college, despite cuts

I proposed a smaller cut to higher education in the 2009 academic year than to other agencies, and asked our colleges and universities not to make any mid-year increases to tuition.

In 2010, the cuts are deeper, but my budget proposes a lesser cut for community colleges--the most affordable point of entry into Virginia's higher education system. And, I propose $26 million in additional support for need-based financial aid so that middle and lower-income students will not find the doors of educational opportunity shut to them.

Janet Napolitano: Added voluntary full-day kindergarten as a new grade level

Yet, as always, there is more to do. We must build on what we have begun. Expanded resources must translate into ever-increasing levels of student achievement. The proportion of our education funds spent in the classroom must increase. The professional status--and the pay--of our classroom teachers must continue to improve.

Janet Napolitano: Implement school choice via public charter schools

Today's short-term budget decisions must not harm the long-term future of Arizona's children. If this Legislature cuts classroom spending, the people of Arizona will recognize such a cut for what it is--not a budget necessity, but a willful and unwise choice.

We must look at higher education in the same way. In the past six years, we have institutionalized the P-20 model in Arizona, which recognizes the reality that education is not neatly segmented, but is instead a continuum of learning that begins at birth and lasts well into a chosen career path.

Bobby Jindal: Increase completion rate above 6% for GED-OPTIONS program

Almost 10,000 over-average-age middle school students opt out of high school and instead enroll into a pre-GED OPTIONS program each year...Yet only 6% of them end up getting a GED. This is not acceptable.

Next session, we will work to close these gaps in the system that too many of our children are slipping through by giving students multiple pathways to success and keeping them engaged in their education--which we all know is the ticket to their future.

Our initiatives will tie academic remediation and GED completion to workforce training opportunities so students complete their program with a useful skill that can directly help them get a job.

Bobby Jindal: Performance-based funding for schools to meet industry needs

• Better account for actual academic program costs
• Encourage institutions to increase retention and graduation rates
• Provide incentives for university research conducted in high-priority economic development areas
• Encourage institutions to produce graduates in high-demand fields in line with the state's occupational demand forecasts and
• Hold colleges and universities more responsible for adequately maintaining campus facilities and infrastructure.

David Paterson: SAY YES program: public-private partnerships for college

Yet we must do more than just prepare our children for college; we must help them afford it. When private lenders refuse to lend to our students because of tight credit markets, we must step in. That is why I propose we establish the New York State Higher Education Loan Program, which will provide more than $350 million in affordable loans to students in need.