ECS
2011 State of the State Addresses
Education-Related Proposals

Education Commission of the States • 700 Broadway, Suite 810 • Denver, CO 80203-3442 • 303.299.3600 • fax 303.296.8332 • www.ecs.org

The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2011 state of the state addresses. To assure that this information reaches you in a timely manner, minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) or format. To view the documents, click on the blue triangle next to the state.

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- Hawaii
Governor Neil Abercrombie's State of the State Address

PROPOSALS

Make education our top priority.

Pre-K -3
-- Utilize federal, state and private resources to develop a leadership position in the Governor's office for early education. This person will coordinate efforts across departments and in the private sector as we lay the groundwork for the future establishment of a Department of Early Childhood.

Finance
-- Implement what is an overdue increase in the alcohol tax and a fee on soda and similar drinks. We can no longer ignore the fact that consumption of these and other such products contribute to rising public health costs. Revenues from these fees will be used to repair the public health infrastructure and also to fund prevention and education programs.

Governance
-- Immediately resolve the appointed school board issue. In the coming weeks, the legislature needs to give me the enabling legislation allowing the Governor to appoint the school board [voters approved a Constitutional amendment but implementation details will be handled through legislation].

College Access and Completion
-- Increase the number of college graduates by 25 percent by 2015 (Hawaii Graduation Initiative). We can achieve this goal by keeping education affordable and reaching out to students across the state who have not been traditionally well served at the University of Hawaii (UH), including Native Hawaiians and neighbor island students.

-- Organize a Hawaiian language university-within-a-university. Language is a key element in ensuring that the Hawaiian culture remains strong and perseveres into the future for the benefit of all. When our young children master language, they master themselves. When they master themselves, they can achieve anything.

Postsecondary Facilities
-- Convene a group of experts and University officials to consider the future of sports and the future of development on Oahu to make a definitive decision on Aloha Stadium and any future stadium we might build. Other than maintenance related to health and safety, I will divert all other capital improvement dollars for Aloha Stadium to other projects. Right now, multimillion dollar plans to extend the life of Aloha Stadium by 20 years could take 40 years to implement. It is time to reprioritize.

Economic Development
-- Strongly support measures to increase the capacity of research programs at the University. These programs play a big part in our economic recovery by bringing external dollars into the State and building innovative industries. The University's current research activity brings $450 million to the table.

Use a new program -- The New Day Work Projects -- to directly attack unemployment and jumpstart business activity. It will provide an economic boost that will reverberate throughout the state. Utilize the bonding power of the state, partner with willing private parties, streamline processes, and provide work that will result in paychecks for families across our islands. This includes ambitious capital improvement plans for the University of Hawaii system, including the UH West Oahu campus and the Palamanui campus in Kona, which will provide new educational opportunities for students.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
N/A - Newly-elected Governor

http://hawaii.gov/gov/our-voyage-together.html
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