Colorado. Governor Owens highlighted some of his administration's education accomplishments, which include fully funded kindergarten through grade 12 education, improved school accountability and improved student achievement. He noted Colorado was one of five states recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for its accountability system. The governor proposed continued full funding for public schools and more than a $700 million investment in higher education. Owens reported fewer than 25% of Coloradoans go on to postsecondary education, with cost sometimes being a limiting factor. He supports the Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education's recommendation to change the higher education funding system by allowing funds to follow students to the institution of their choice. The governor proposed creating the College Opportunity Fund to provide $18,000 for each student to attend a community college, state college or public university. A strong economy is based on an educated workforce, which depends on a high-quality education system.
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Connecticut. Governor Rowland acknowledged accomplishments that have occurred during the past eight years. Large investments were made in various areas that included education, cities and state parks. Admissions to public postsecondary institutions are at record-making levels. The state raised education standards and expectations for students.
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Delaware. Governor Minner reported Delaware is one of a few states that has not been forced to raise taxes, lay off workers, drastically cut services or raid its emergency funds during the past two years. However, the state faces a budget situation where projected revenues for the next two years are below current expenditure levels. The governor insists the budget situation must be resolved with long-term cuts or increased sustainable revenue. She noted education standards and accountability programs implemented during the past 10 years are demonstrating results through improved math and reading scores. Delaware must remain committed to a world-class education system. Minner directed the secretary of education to identify character education programs that could be voluntarily added to curriculums at no or little cost to school districts. She believes schools providing character education will produce better students and citizens.
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District of Columbia.

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Florida. Governor Bush said Florida was one of three states to significantly increase education spending for the current year. Two constitutional amendments approved in November 2002 - class-size reduction and high-speed rail - make it difficult to strengthen the state's economy and protect its citizens. The governor's proposed budget includes funding for implementing year one of the class-size reduction because the state is obligated to implement the voter-approved amendment. Because this amendment required severe cuts in the governor's proposed budget, Bush recommended the two amendments be placed before the voters again now that they have information on the state's current fiscal situation and the large tax increases that will be necessary to fund them. He reaffirmed his support for the importance of reading as the foundation for all learning and asked the legislature to continue supporting the "Just Read, Florida!" initiative with a $30 million appropriation for this year. These funds will train more educators to effectively teach reading and expand reading programs in the upper grades. The governor also requested legislative support for a $27 million funding increase for the Excellent Teacher Program.
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Georgia. Governor Perdue said providing people with knowledge and training for the information-based economy is the best economic plan for Georgia. Children deserve a high-quality education, which is why 55% of the state's budget appropriations are for education. The governor proposed reserving Georgia's future lottery revenue for two successful education programs: pre-kindergarten programs and Hope scholarships. According to Perdue, the state's education system is not accomplishing what it should. Students' performances are below the national averages in reading, writing, math and science on the National Assessment of Education Progress report card. Students rank 50th in SAT scores and the state has one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation. He proposed focusing education improvement efforts on accountability, cooperation and respect. Georgia has high standards and expectations for schools, and the state wants to work with parents and educators to improve student achievement. Perdue will collaborate with Georgia State Superintendent Cox and the Georgia State Board of Education and consult with educators to restructure the department of education ensuring everyone has the same goals. The Office of Accountability will move back in to the department of education, serving an audit function by reporting to the state board of education. The governor voiced his respect for educators and committed to doing everything possible to help improve their jobs, including giving teachers more control over their classrooms and power to remove disruptive students who interfere with other students' learning. He noted 57% of teachers earned pay raises this year. The current budget situation will not allow the state to give across-the-board cost-of-living raises to everyone. When the budget situation improves, Perdue supports giving teachers a raise.
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Hawaii. Governor Lingle said everyone must work together to address the budget shortfall and implement structural changes, while making sure every policy, program and law is what's in the best interest of all Hawaiians. According to the governor, everyone knows Hawaii's public education system is broke. She proposed a statewide ballot referendum amending the constitution to allow local school boards. If the referendum is approved, fair and equal funding would be determined on a statewide basis, and basic standards would be monitored by the state. Local boards would control decisions such as hiring and day-to-day operation of schools. The governor sees school choice as the key to education reform and supports education alternatives, including schools within a school, magnet schools, e-schooling, homeschooling and charter schools. The department of education should allow more charter schools, provide adequate charter school funding and permit charter schools to make their own hiring choices without requiring union membership. Lingle recommended school principals be considered a part of management and not be allowed to be union members. She also proposed new initiatives allowing principals and teachers to remove disruptive students from classrooms. Lingle asked the lieutenant governor, in consultation with interested parties, to form a plan implementing voluntary drug testing where students would receive appropriate assistance without jeopardizing their education.
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Idaho. Governor Kempthorne reaffirmed his commitment to providing the best possible education for the state's children and ensuring postsecondary institutions prepare students to compete in a global economy in spite of the budget shortfall facing Idaho. He demonstrated this commitment by exempting K-12 and postsecondary education from budget cuts in 2002. The governor proposed two new taxes as a means of maintaining a balanced budget that will address critical issues such as funding for school facilities. Kempthorne wants to go forward with previously approved campus construction projects to meet the needs of colleges and universities and to stimulate the economy by creating jobs. He also wants to restore full funding for Promise Scholarships that benefit postsecondary students. The governor announced a $35 million investment from the Albertson Foundation that will be used to develop and implement a student achievement data information system in support of improved instruction, assessment and accountability.
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Illinois. Governor Blagojevich announced an initiative providing preschool access for every at-risk child in Illinois. He said universal preschool should begin immediately, but will be phased in because of the state's $5 million budget deficit. Traditional teacher recruiting methods won't be adequate to fill the 44,000 Illinois teaching positions expected during the next four years. The governor proposed providing $5,000 annual scholarships to college juniors and seniors agreeing to teach in hard-to-fill positions for five years. The scholarship would be increased to $10,000 for those agreeing to teach subjects such as reading and science in areas with teacher shortages. To support parents who want to be involved in their children's education, Blagojevich will introduce legislation expanding leave time for parents' participation in school activities from eight hours of unpaid leave per year to three days. He announced the immediate implementation of a three-day school-related leave policy for employees in his office and state executive agencies. The governor asked all state schools to adopt the national PTA's standard for parental involvement, ensuring communication between schools and home. Blagojevich announced the creation of a new Web-based system to provide parents with information on their children's education activities. He also proposed providing teachers with voice mail to improve communication with parents. To improve the state's economy, the governor announced the creation of entrepreneurship centers at six postsecondary institutions - the first one to be operational within two months - and expanded to 20 within two years.
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Indiana. Governor O'Bannon recapped some of Indiana's education accomplishments, including implementation of some of the nation's strongest school standards and recognition for being one of five states with an approved accountability system for the No Child Left Behind initiative. Indiana must continue to urge the federal government to fully fund this initiative. The governor proposed collaborating with the Indiana Education Roundtable and the Indiana State Board of Education to establish a CORE 40 high school curriculum that would be more demanding than the current requirements for a diploma. This fall in partnership with Vincennes University and Ivy Tech, Indiana will expand the community college system created in 2000 to enable more people to take advantage of education opportunities. O'Bannon's proposed budget provides no new spending for most areas of government, including education, even though he acknowledged public schools and postsecondary institutions are being asked to accomplish more without increased resources. The governor and lieutenant governor recently launched Energize Indiana, a plan to revitalize the economy that includes efforts to teach students what they need to succeed in a global economy, close the student achievement gap, help students complete higher education and provide college scholarships for low-income students and students studying targeted areas. Energize Indiana aims to enroll 200,000 additional students in higher education and credentialled programs over the next 10 years.
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Iowa. According to Governor Vilsack, Iowa's economy must transform from one based on the production of low-priced agricultural commodities and low-paying manufacturing and service jobs to one based on high-tech and life sciences, which requires a more highly educated workforce. The governor proposed creating the Iowa Values Fund dedicated to collaborating with private investments to reform the economy, and work with postsecondary institutions to double the number of college-educated people in the workforce. The last legislature's commitment to lower class sizes, reading initiatives and improving teacher quality resulted in higher test scores and improved teacher professional development opportunities. For children to succeed in school and postsecondary education, they must enter school ready to learn. Vilsack stated over 90% of the state's children have access to all-day kindergarten. The governor wants to ensure 90% of the children also have access to quality preschool programs and 90% of the children complete their education with at least two years of college. He proposed creating the Iowa Learns Council charged with developing strategies and policy recommendations for accomplishing this 90/90 goal, with necessary funding coming from revenues generated by the Iowa Values Fund. Vilsack asked the legislature to restore work-study funding to provide students with a way to deal with increasing tuitions. To solve the problem of education disparity, Iowa must address the issue of small school districts. The governor proposed creating a virtual academy providing students access to online courses and regional academies enabling schools to combine their course offerings, and fiscal incentives to encourage school consolidation. He called for a new school funding study to determine if there are inequities that need to be addressed.
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Kansas. Governor Sebelius acknowledged Kansas is facing difficult financial times. Quality education for all children is the state's top priority, and covers the continuum from early childhood learning opportunities that prepare children to start schools to excellent schools in every community to recognition that the jobs require postsecondary education or training. A prospering economy depends on an educated workforce and the state cannot afford to reduce its commitment to education excellence. The governor's proposed budget protects kindergarten through grade 12 funding and does not reduce current levels of higher education funding. To ensure the state has adequate dollars for education funding, the proposed budget does not include any revenue transfers from the state to cities and counties. State revenue transfers provided 2% of local resources. This reduction is less than the 6% reduction most state agencies, excluding education institutions, experienced since last May.
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Kentucky. Governor Patton said when he took office he was determined to be Kentucky's education governor, and in his address he highlighted some of the education reforms that occurred during his administration, including the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), reforms in the state's postsecondary education system, expanded early childhood development programs and improved adult education. The difficult issue facing the current legislature and Patton is deciding whether to increase state revenues or reduce expenditures on education and other areas. The governor's goal is to not cut any education programs; however, current state revenue will not fully fund the basic per-pupil-in-average-daily-attendance appropriation nor increased postsecondary enrollments. With the legislature's help, Patton is committed to solving the budget shortfall during his final year in office so this problem will not be handed to the next governor.
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Louisiana.

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Maine.

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Maryland. Governor Ehrlich said postsecondary institutions, such as John Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, give the state recognition as being an intellectual force in the region. The governor supports fully funding the Commission of Education Finance, Equity and Excellence's (also known as the Thornton Commission) recommendations to help every student compete on an equal basis. His proposed budget includes an additional $242 million for education, $148 of which would be appropriated under the Thornton formula. Ehrlich opposes social promotion because it hurts students and gives taxpayers the wrong message. He proposed a new commission, known as Thornton II and chaired by Lieutenant Governor Steele, devoted to examining Maryland's education policy. The governor said one of his top priorities this year would be to pass charter school legislation. His proposed budget also includes $5.2 million for the Transitioning Youth Program to help young people with disabilities graduate from school and become independent, productive citizens.
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Massachusetts. Governor Romney said the top priority is education, making sure the system enables a child to move from kindergarten to being qualified for good-paying employment. All children must be taught and fluent in English. The state must continue to support the progress already made in education. To help reduce the state's budget deficient, the governor proposed grouping postsecondary education systems into regions and providing shared services to eliminate duplicative areas such as purchasing, information technology departments and accounting systems. Romney endorsed a single student admissions' application, which all state campuses will use. The governor's proposed budget is balanced, invested in education and putting money into child care programs so welfare parents of preschool children can have the dignity of working for their benefits.
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Michigan. According to Governor Granholm, there is a $285 million state budget deficient. Michigan law requires a balanced school budget and recently forced a $127 million reduction in state education funding. The governor's top priority is education excellence. She announced Project Great Start to focus people and institutions on the common goal of increased learning from birth to age 5. Project Great Start includes asking countywide and multicounty school districts to redefine their mission recognizing education starts at birth, finding ways to educate parents and making sure young children are read to at least one half hour daily; forming the Children's Action Network to coordinate state departments' policies on parents' education and children's reading goals; and asking Michigan's foundations to support Project Great Start. Granholm asked high schools to team with early childhood centers, having students read to young children. The governor wants school districts to voluntarily add a 40-hour community service high school graduation requirement. She announced the Governor's Education Technology Fund (GET Fund), a public-private partnership to provide online teacher professional development opportunities through the Michigan Virtual University and school districts. The governor's husband will lead a renewed effort to recruit mentors to serve as role models for children through the Mentor Michigan initiative. To encourage students to stay in school, she asked the legislation to enact a law linking the responsibility of having a driver's license with school attendance. Granholm created a Great Lakes, Great Hopes scholarship fund financed by private donations, with future state support when it is fiscally possible, to guarantee college scholarships to middle school students who commit to finishing high school and attending a postsecondary institution. Economic development and education are linked and Michigan must excel in education to have a successful economy.
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Minnesota. Governor Pawlenty said Minnesota faces the largest budget shortfall in the state's history because the government is spending more money than it has in revenue. One of the state's greatest responsibilities is providing education for the state's children. Minnesota used to be the center of education innovation and still have a great education system, but they have become complacent about education. To get the education system back on track, Pawlenty proposed the following: (1) focus on educating children and improving student achievement - the Department of Children, Families and Learning will be renamed the Minnesota Department of Education; (2) hold parents more accountable for their children's success in school by making sure their children come to school ready to learn - mentors or tutors will be found for children whose parents are unable to provide this environment; (3) abolish the Profile of Learning and replace it with clear, rigorous academic standards; (4) develop new approaches for educating disadvantaged children ensuring they graduate from high school; (5) reward teachers for teaching excellence with a pay-for-performance system; and (6) create a new school funding formula that is fair and understandable. The governor will name a panel of experts and citizens to revamp the education funding system plan for approval by the legislature and piloted in a number of districts. The best plan should then be made available to districts statewide.
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Mississippi. Governor Musgrove said education must be Mississippi's top priority because communities with good schools attract good jobs. He plans to build on accomplishments already made in education - higher teacher salaries, better student test scores and more high school graduates attending college. The governor proposed a Summer Smart program to bring kindergarten students into the classroom two months before and two months after the school year to help prepare them for 1st grade. Musgrove wants to expand the Support Our Students after-school program from 19 sites to more than 250 sites throughout the state. He called for the creation of a $200 million "Brain Trust" for the state's postsecondary institutions that would be funded by bonds. This new funding would be used to recruit and retain highly qualified faculty in the areas of research, development and workforce training with the intent of creating more high-paying employment opportunities for the state's residents. Musgrove asked the legislature to approve his education budget appropriation that invests 62% of the general fund in pre-K through postsecondary education and to approve it as one appropriation before the end of January.
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Missouri. Governor Holden highlighted education accomplishments of the past two years, including higher reading and ACT scores, lower dropout rates, more nationally certified teachers and online individual school report cards. Missouri must become a leader in the new "knowledge-based" economy of the future. The state can move forward in the new economy by focusing higher education investments on innovation and the critical areas of life sciences, advanced manufacturing and information technology. He said strong universities are an investment in future employment opportunities, and urged business interests in Missouri to strengthen their commitment to higher education. Holden charged the new Commission on the Future of Higher Education with recommending ways that strengthen ties between higher education and economic growth, improve the overall quality of postsecondary education and identify new funding sources for higher education. He asked private-sector and postsecondary education leaders to create the Research Alliance of Missouri to coordinate research and provide increased technology access to businesses. The governor's proposed budget appropriates half of the state general funds to public and postsecondary education. Holden proposed increased gaming taxes to protect the school foundation formula from reductions. He also said he would reject a budget that does not provide an opportunity for a quality education to all children, takes funds from poor or rural schools to fund the richest schools, or pits higher education against elementary and secondary education.
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Montana. Governor Martz recapped Montana's economic development progress since she took office. The University of Montana system plays a role by creating a high-quality workforce necessary to support economic development and providing technology to businesses that create jobs. Everyone must work together to maintain a quality elementary and secondary education system. To further support the governor's previous efforts of having outstanding teachers, she and Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch proposed legislation to help repay student loans for new Montana teachers. Other proposed legislation includes ensuring schools with declining enrollments meet their fixed costs without reducing education quality and creating a statewide teachers' insurance pool to keep down the costs of healthcare. Martz asked the legislature to support a school renewal commission, jointly sponsored by the governor and the board of public education, charged with making recommendations to the next legislature on reforming the way schools operate. The governor, in partnership with student leaders, plans to hold a Youth Tobacco Prevention Summit with the goal of ensuring a tobacco-free high school graduating class by 2015. Martz announced the new annual Governor's Award for Excellence in Cultural Education for the school that best implements the Indian Education For All Act of 1999. She proposed a one-time $93 million transfer from the coal trust fund to help fund education and health care.
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Nebraska. Governor Johanns summarized the budget problems Nebraska must solve and noted the tremendous investments in education, human services and corrections, which began more than four years ago, that were based on unfulfilled revenue projections. The governor's proposed budget calls for reductions in almost all services, programs and funds provided by state government and reflects funding priorities to ensure safe communities, protect the most vulnerable citizens and promote children's safety and health. Based on these priorities, early childhood education aid is one of the areas protected from deep budget cuts.
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Nevada. According to Governor Guinn, Nevada faces the most challenging fiscal situation in the state's history. His proposals for developing stable revenue sources, rather than depending solely on tourism and gaming, are based on the Task Force on Tax Policy's recommendations and are necessary to increase appropriations for education and other critical areas. The governor proposed full-day kindergarten, starting in at-risk schools, to give children long-term academic and social benefits. He wants to continue funding new teacher signing bonuses to ensure the state has adequate numbers of skilled teachers. Guinn asked that local districts and schools be allowed to pay enhanced salaries for teachers in hard-to-staff schools or teachers trained to teach math and special education. He wants to address the state's chronic underfunding of education through additional investments in textbooks, technology and instructional materials. Guinn recommended expanding an Elko County pilot project that demonstrated local flexibility could result in reduced class sizes without increased resources. Nevada must build on the progress made in postsecondary education, which experienced an increase in the number of high school graduates attending college through the Millennium Scholarship program and more students enrolled in math, science and technology classes. The governor's proposed budget provides an additional $80 million to support continued growth in postsecondary education. To further enhance higher education and economic development and to provide new construction jobs, Guinn proposed building the new Science, Engineering and Technology Center at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
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New Hampshire.

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New Jersey. Governor McGreevey outlined efforts to improve literacy, the state's top education priority, including placing reading coaches in 80 elementary schools and starting the Governor's Book Club to encourage student reading. To improve teacher quality, the state is collaborating with postsecondary institutions to implement uniform standards for teacher preparation programs and raised the grade point average required for teacher certification effective in 2004. In addition, teachers must be certified in the subject area they teach. New Jersey continues to develop high-quality summer professional development programs for reading, science and math teachers. The state included technology in its curriculum requirements and will require passing a technology proficiency test for high school graduation. McGreevey proposed high school seniors who have completed graduation requirements and test out of required courses be allowed to take college-level courses, do community service or complete internships to help prepare them for their futures. He proposed restructuring the state's postsecondary institutions into an integrated world-class university system to attract high-quality faculty and promote stronger partnerships with the private sector to advance research and development for economic growth.
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New Mexico. Governor Richardson said improving education is his first priority. He asked the legislature to create a cabinet-level secretary of education position. Richardson wants the authority to make the education system work and be held accountable for the outcome. Because teachers are at the heart of a strong education system, he proposed a 6% teacher salary increase for the next fiscal year, moving New Mexico from a national ranking of 46th to 39th in teacher salaries, with additional salary increases in following years. Forty percent of new money in the governor's proposed budget is appropriated for education. New Mexico currently spends a lower percentage of its education dollars in the classroom than the national average. Richardson asked school districts to find savings of 5% of their budgets for redirection to teacher salaries and classrooms, and commit $36 million of districts' nonemergency, nonallocated cash balances - less than 20% of the total cash reserves - for funding basic school programs and services. He proposed using $11 million from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Block Grant to fund full-day kindergarten for all schools that are ready. Because keeping children in school is a critical component of student achievement, the governor proposed a $1 million matching-grant appropriation to fund coordinated truancy prevention efforts. The governor's education policy advisor will work with the proposed New Mexico School Performance Review division to audit school and teacher performance, starting with troubled districts and eventually covering all districts. Richardson also plans an in-depth study of restructuring the state's education system. To support future economic development, he wants schools to teach business and entrepreneurial skills, and recommended a $9 million one-time expenditure to complete funding for endowed chairs in business and technology research at several state postsecondary institutions.
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New York. Governor Pataki highlighted some of the state's education improvements and reforms, which include New York City school governance reform, school safety legislation, high learning standards and resources to implement them, after-school programs, and teacher recruitment programs. The governor proposed giving mayors of urban cities greater control over their school systems similar to the authority provided in New York City. Pataki proposed reforming the state's education bureaucracy by changing the governance of schools statewide, reforming the way the state board of regents is chosen and refocusing the department of education on educating students. He wants to create urban centers for training future teachers and proposed Buffalo State College as one center location. The governor highlighted contributions the Centers of Excellence, partnerships between high-tech industry and academic institutions, have made to the state's economy and proposed creating additional centers. The governor's forthcoming budget will exempt no segment, except public security, from spending less money than they did in 2002.
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North Carolina. Governor Easley highlighted some of the state's education accomplishments of the past two years - creation of "More at Four," a preschool program currently serving 10,000 four-year-old children in 91 counties; reduction of kindergarten and 1st-grade class sizes from 30 students to 18; initiation of class-size reductions in grades 2 and 3. He also mentioned reduction of the school dropout rate for the third year in a row; improvement of test scores; increases in teacher compensation and establishment of character education classes across the state. The governor said the state's first priority is to protect children and their right to a high-quality education. Education funding must not be sacrificed for the economy. The education budget for pre-kindergarten through higher education has not been cut because the economy requires learning from pre-school to retirement. A greater effort must be made to ensure at-risk 4-year-olds attend pre-kindergarten through the "More at Four" program. Community college faculty salaries must increase from their current 43rd national ranking. College tuition will not increase so higher education remains affordable. He supports several improvement projects to stimulate the state's economy, including building facilities for community colleges and other postsecondary institutions (funded by a voter-approved $3.1 billion bond issue) and helping local governments construct facilities to replace trailers currently in use as classrooms. Governor Easley repeated his two-year-old proposal to establish an education lottery, ensuring North Carolina education dollars are spent instate instead of contributing to neighboring states' lottery revenues. Lottery funds could go toward reducing class size, providing pre-kindergarten and building school facilities.
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North Dakota. Governor Hoeven highlighted Smart Growth, the state's economic development plan that is built on education, career development and technology. Based on Smart Growth, some investments for the education systems include (1) increasing teacher compensation to keep the best teachers in North Dakota; (2) developing internship programs to help students start careers in-state; (3) improving career counseling and job placement to ensure students find the right career and best opportunities in North Dakota; and (4) implementing fully the higher education roundtable strategy designed to maximize the synergy between education and entrepreneurial activity. He is committed to making education an integral part of the state's economic development plan and making educators partners in keeping young people in the state. Hoeven is also committed to reducing substance abuse in K-12 schools, which is demonstrated by devoting substantial funding under the federal Safe and Drug Free School Program.
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Ohio. Governor Taft said Ohio needs new revenue immediately to meet the state's dire budget situation. He issued an executive order reducing state spending by $121 million with only formula aid for schools, student subsidies for higher education and a few other areas being spared. If the governor's proposals for addressing the budget crisis are not approved by the end of February, he will be forced to make additional funding cuts, including state aid to schools and higher education. Because a strong economy begins with a good education system, Taft focused on improving education during his administration. Student achievement is improving and Ohio must continue its progress by building more new facilities, improving math and reading skills, and having a high-quality teacher in every classroom. The state has been involved in school funding litigation for more than 10 years and the Ohio State Supreme Court provided the state with an opportunity to fix the school funding system. The governor's proposed budget for the first year of the biennium includes additional funds though the current funding formula for improving the quality of classroom teachers, reading initiatives and improving student achievement. More education funds are included in the second year of the biennium without specifying a funding formula. Taft will create a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Financing Student Success charged with proposing a new education funding system. Their recommendations will be the basis for an improved school finance system by the 2005 fiscal year. The governor also proposed creating a Commission on Higher Education and the Economy to recommend ways of using increased budget appropriations more efficiently and better preparing students to contribute to the economy.
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Oklahoma. According to Governor Henry, Oklahoma faces the largest revenue shortfall in the state's history. He pledged to protect education funding to the greatest extent possible and demonstrated his intent to make education the state's top priority by increasing education funding in his proposed budget. Henry proposed deregulating the postsecondary tuition process and allowing institutions to establish reasonable tuition rates based on rates at comparable colleges and universities. Increased need-based tuition waivers and scholarships should offset increased tuition rates. At-risk children must be identified early in their education experience ensuring students have the skills they need to seek a postsecondary education. The governor supports expanding early childhood programs to achieve the state's goal of having 90% of public school 3rd-grade students reading at grade level by 2007. He urged passage of the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Act, which encourages public-private partnerships and makes investments in early learning. The governor said all levels of education must help identify and implement resource efficiencies. He asked businesses to partner with schools to improve academic achievement through volunteerism and innovation. To provide a stable source on education revenue, Henry asked the legislature to approve a ballot initiative allowing Oklahomans to vote on establishing a lottery. Lottery revenues would be directed to various programs, including early childhood learning, tutoring, incentives for parental involvement, technology infrastructure, teacher retention and free postsecondary education for all state citizens. The governor also proposed creating a tax reduction for teachers who purchase classroom supplies with their own funds. Henry challenged postsecondary education institutions to provide leadership for Oklahoma's economic development.
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Oregon. Governor Kulongoski said Oregon must let the federal government know the state's highest priorities are educating children, protecting families and ensuring health care for senior citizens. The governor's proposed budget protects Healthy Start and Crisis Relief Nurseries' funding, and halts the state's trend of spending reductions for kindergarten through grade 12 education. He is committed to governance principles that put children first. Oregon must create a reliable public school funding system because it is essential for the state's children and the state's economic future. Kulongoski believes a grassroots movement will lead to reforms providing the fiscal support needed by schools. The state is working with AARP to provide additional volunteers to read to young children one hour every week. The governor will make workforce training one of his priorities, ensuring businesses are aware of training opportunities available from community colleges and the state. It is important for postsecondary institutions to maintain their high-quality and affordable tuition rates to attract the brightest students to instate schools and eventually to instate employment. He proposed creating a new higher education endowment fund, including public and private funding, to increase access to colleges and universities. Higher education will likely face funding reductions, but the governor is committed to supporting postsecondary education. A strong higher education system with high-quality faculty and research facilities supports economic development, attracts new businesses and produces cutting-edge products.
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Pennsylvania.

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Puerto Rico.Governor Calderón celebrated her reforms of the department of education and stressed that incidents of school violence and the dropout rate have declined. The governor singles out the "Open School" program for praise. The program provides extracurricular activities to students after traditional school hours. Calderón proposes to increase spending on the "Open School" program to $47 million this year. The governor also promises to institute a program for providing substitute teachers to ensure all students have a teacher in the classroom. Puerto Rico also will continue to implement a curriculum that focuses on the basics, Spanish, English and mathematics, while also cultivating values through courses in ethics and civics. Finally, the governor asks for a 20% increase in education spending.

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Rhode Island. Governor Carcieri said Rhode Island's budget situation is difficult, but manageable, if Rhode Islanders work together. To resolve the budget shortfall, the state must redirect money it is already spending. The state currently ranks last on money spent in research and development at postsecondary institutions, and the governor proposed investing in these areas at the University of Rhode Island to expand the economy. He also proposed allowing professors more freedom to commercialize their inventions. The state must help children succeed in school to prepare them for adult life and the workforce. Carcieri is committed to improving student achievement at low-performing schools by implementing school redesign programs such as the one at Hope High School where students are divided into smaller groups providing individualized attention. The governor recommended the department of education increase funding for teacher and principal professional development to ensure a supportive environment for high-quality educators. His proposed budget includes increased funding for adult literacy to counteract the state's high rate of adult illiteracy. Carcieri also proposed doubling state support for college scholarships ensuring every student has an opportunity to pursue their career goals.
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South Carolina. Because South Carolina's budget is a mess, Governor Sanford did not ask for new programs but for tools to fix the root problems and improve the state. One way to improve the state's economy is by being competitive and this depends on a quality education system. Education is South Carolina's most important responsibility and makes up more than 50% of the state budget. Sanford vowed to work with the South Carolina Superintendent of Education to ensure money is used for high priority areas such as teacher quality and early childhood education. The governor proposed using block grants to fund schools instead of the present, confusing finance system. Since local administrators are held accountable for school and student performances, block grants would enable them to spend resources in ways that best fit their needs. He made suggestions for dealing with student discipline problems: conduct grades, in-school suspensions, boot camps and teacher classroom sovereignty. Sanford proposed giving parents more education choices for their children based on alternatives that have proven successful in other states. Increasing the number of charter schools is one option that would result in federal matching funds. He is seeking suggestions for more effective use of postsecondary education resources and ways of increasing higher education's responsiveness to the state's workforce needs. To improve South Carolina's quality of life, Sanford proposed reintroducing the concept of neighborhood schools. Large schools result in long bus rides for students, children being ignored, loss of a sense of community ownership, increased sprawl and disappearing countryside. He wants to give school boards more flexibility in selecting school sites and cap student populations in new schools.
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South Dakota. Governor Rounds announced plans for restructuring state departments and agencies, including transferring the cultural preservation offices out of the department of education and cultural affairs and renaming it the department of education. The governor will spend six to nine months reviewing the department of education and revamping it to focus on the core elements of No Child Left Behind: student achievement, student assessment, school accountability and teacher quality. His proposed budget includes an additional $15.1 million for elementary and secondary education, which will come from a 1.5% inflationary increase, redistribution of remaining declining enrollment funds and state supplemental funds to replace unrealized dollars from the Education Enhancement Trust Fund. This will constitute the largest single education increase in South Dakota's history. The increased appropriations would provide local boards an opportunity to determine how well their budgets fit their needs. Rounds said people might think he's talking about school consolidation, but he means cooperation in determining better ways of delivering education to meet the children's needs. Technology use is one way of enhancing education, especially for rural students, and he is committed to funding education technology. Property tax relief is something for future consideration, but the current emphasis must be on funding education. The governor supports expanding the Advanced Reading Enhancement Approach program and starting a similar new Governor's Math Initiative. He proposed creating a Dakota Core Scholarship Program to keep young people in the state. The program would provide tuition-free education at public and private postsecondary in-state institutions, and graduates agreeing to stay in South Dakota for five years will have tuition costs forgiven at the rate of one-fifth of the total costs per year. The program will only be implemented if funding is available. Rounds proposed including dentists in a similar Physician Tuition Reimbursement Plan. The governor also announced the establishment of the Dick Hagen and Minerva Harvey Scholarship Program for Native American students, funded by interest from monies bequeathed to the state for funding Indian scholarships. Rounds will work with the South Dakota Board of Regents on the issue of intellectual property so college professors and students are rewarded for developing cutting-edge ideas with business applications. He also wants to collaborate with the board of regents in promoting in-state business internships as another means of keeping young people in South Dakota.
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Tennessee.

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Texas. Governor Perry's top three priorities are education, citizen security and government fiscal responsibility. To reduce budget expenditures, he proposed cutting current appropriation levels by an average of 9%, with the exception of education that would receive a half-billion-dollar increase. The governor joined House Speaker Tom Craddick in calling for tuition deregulation to give postsecondary institutions and boards of regents' greater fiscal control. Texas must have high-quality education standards and accountability systems without letting state mandates interfere with local innovation and control. To achieve this, he offered the Education Freedom Plan, based on the principle that local educators and citizens know what is best for educating their children, eliminating mandates that impact achievement, unnecessary paperwork and resource wastefulness. Perry proposed that schools meeting performance standards be allowed to spend their education funds as determined by local decisions. He proposed a science initiative to strengthen the science curriculum, improve expert science teachers' compensation and prepare students for technology careers. The governor's plan includes reimbursing teachers who buy school supplies, rewarding teacher excellence and protecting educators from frivolous lawsuits. Perry proposed a High School Completion Initiative for at-risk students to ensure graduation. He wants high school students to have more options for completing coursework such as flexible scheduling, tutoring or mentoring and access to alternate learning environments. The governor also supports allowing students in low-performing schools to attend the best available school - public, private or religious. Perry called for revamping the state's education finance system because the current Robin Hood system must come to an end.
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Utah. Governor Leavitt announced his support for the state board of education's proposal to adopt a high school graduation competency standard. The standard would be based on what students know instead of on how much time they spent in class. It would encourage learning throughout all of high school instead of sliding through the senior year because students have accumulated the right number of credits. The governor proposed authorizing the state board of education to develop and test a funding system called the Weighted Competency Unit, based on competency measurements instead of the current attendance-based funding structure. Utah must address their low investment in education - recently rated as 50th in the nation for per-pupil spending and 40% below the national average. Leavitt proposed Utah develop a plan to fund both increased enrollment and close by one-half the gap between the state and its neighboring states within the next six years. Utah must not appropriate less money for education than it has in the past years. After the public education-funding situation is corrected, the governor will consider alternatives for providing school choice such as tuition tax credits. However, he said a better option is to have more charter schools, funded equally with other public schools and a revolving loan fund for nonprofit charter schools' building needs. The best education alternative is competency-based charter schools similar to the state's six new high-tech high schools. The governor is also concerned tuition increases make it difficult, or impossible, for middle-class citizens to obtain a postsecondary education. Leavitt said putting education funding first is good economy policy - a strong economy depends on an educated workforce.
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Vermont.

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Virginia. Governor Warner stated support for public schools is the highest priority of the state. His proposed budget provides $65 million in additional state funding for public education, and Warner said he would not sign a budget that cuts education resources. The governor will continue to work with educators and parents to find new ways to build on the progress already made by schools, including improved student achievement on the Standards of Learning exams, schools meeting full accreditation standards ahead of schedule and closing the achievement gap. He renewed his commitment to improving postsecondary institutions and will convene a higher education summit to focus on improving Virginia's national ranking in research and development. The summit will also explore ways to help campuses operate in a more entrepreneurial manner. Warner proposed creating a "middle college" within the community college system to provide young people without a high school diploma an opportunity to gain job skills.
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Virgin Islands.

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Washington. Governor Locke acknowledged Washington is facing a budget crisis. Education allocations make up 56% of his proposed budget, including an increase for kindergarten through grade 12 education because education is a priority for the state and critical to a growing economy. The proposed budget continues funding for class-size reduction and enhancements will resume in 2005-06. The teacher salary cost-of-living increase will be reinstated in 2005. Washington must continue improvements made in education, such as improved reading test scores. The governor stated that while test scores are improving, the achievement gap is growing between white students and students of color. He proposed reforming the Learning Assistance Program to ensure schools with at-risk students receive funds they need to close the learning gap. Locke recently proposed simplifying and reforming high school graduation requirements. The governor supports a constitutional amendment allowing school levies to be approved by a simple majority of the voters. He proposed legislation to reform the school districts' levy system as a means of removing artificial differences between neighboring districts and helping districts with high-costs-of-living to meet teachers' needs. Locke wants a restructured, seamless state education system from preschool through college with stable funding and proposed establishing an Education Trust Fund to provide resources for needs and reforms not covered by the education budget. To stimulate the economy, the governor urged approval of his construction budget that will create new jobs, while building and renovating schools and postsecondary campus buildings. He also proposed $20 million in higher education funding to expand enrollment in high-demand fields such as engineering and computer science.
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West Virginia. Governor Wise acknowledged that West Virginia faces a budget crisis, but he does not want the budget shortfall to hinder the progress that has been made in K-12 and postsecondary education in areas such as increased teacher compensation and per-capita spending on education. The governor is committed to protecting K-12 education funding and proposed increasing the education budget. Wise exempted the PROMISE Scholarship and the West Virginia Higher Education Grant Program from budget reductions. The governor asked the legislature to continue the back-to-school tax holiday that was implemented last year, which in addition to giving parents a break on school supplies and clothes, drew shoppers from other states.
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Wisconsin. Governor Doyle said Wisconsin's budget deficit is so severe it threatens state government, but not the state's values. The governor called for a special legislative session to cut this year's budget by $161 million. He is determined to solve the budget crisis, not by increasing taxes, but by setting priorities and reducing spending. One of Doyle's top priorities is education. The governor said Wisconsin must treat teachers like professionals if the state wants quality teachers who are necessary for great schools. The state must focus on closing the achievement gap. This includes reforming the way education is funded to stop the current situation of richer schools having twice as many dollars as poorer schools. He announced the Governor's Task Force on Education Funding to look at all finance options in open meetings with input from all stakeholders. The governor and first lady will help establish the Community Connections initiative to bring greater community commitment to middle schools through activities, including mentoring, participating in after-school activities, rebuilding playing fields and providing apprenticeships. The goal is twofold - get communities involved in middle schools and students involved in communities - with the end result being greater civic responsibility, enhanced skills for the new economy and improved academic performance. Wisconsin must take advantage of its postsecondary institutions to expand the state's economic growth.
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Wyoming. Governor Freudenthal noted Wyoming is fortunate to not be experiencing the budget shortfalls affecting most other states. Because this is a nonbudget session of the legislature, only limited supplemental funding items will be considered. Education operating funding will increase this session based on interim committee work. The governor asked the legislature to work toward appropriate education allocations and a fully funded system, taking into consideration declining student enrollments and local school districts' foundation funding guarantees that increased from $500 million for school year 1992-93 to $725 million for 2002-03. The governor and the superintendent of public instruction want to work with the legislature on ways to improve the quality of education that avoids further litigation. Results from a survey of school capital construction needs will provide information necessary to facilitate discussions on funding options. Freudenthal proposed a statewide property tax for school construction should be placed before the voters in the 2004 general election to allow individuals to voice their opinions on construction funding and provide a dedicated source of income for at least part of the school construction program.
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