Education Key to Revitalizing Michigan's Economy .(MP3- 3MB)

Governor Granholm Issues Executive Order to Cut Spending, Vows to Protect People, Invest in Michigan's Future Governor Granholm Working to Grow Michigan's Economy at Home and Abroad

I had the pleasure to meet with educators, business people, and Michigan citizens at my annual Education Summit to discuss how to ensure educational success for Michigan children and how to turn educational advancement into economic success for our entire state.

Education is so important – especially right now – because it truly is the key to revitalizing Michigan’s economy. Experts across the country agree that investing in education is the single most effective strategy for stoking a state’s economic growth. That’s why our schools and our kids are the foundation of our state’s economic plan.

My administration has already taken steps to ensure that Michigan children will be successful in classrooms throughout the state. We have instituted new curriculum requirements for K-8 schools, as well as new high school curriculum standards that are among the most rigorous in the nation. We also established the Michigan Promise scholarship which provides $4,000 to every single student in Michigan to ensure that they get the opportunity to receive technical training or to attend college. These critical steps will help prepare Michigan children for the cutting-edge jobs that are coming to Michigan and requiring a well-educated workforce.

While Michigan has made great strides in recent years, there is still more work to be done. More than anything right now, we need our legislators to kick the state’s economic plan into overdrive, particularly in education. I especially support 1) expanding early education by making full-day preschool available and requiring kindergarten for all Michigan children; 2) raising the drop-out age so all students are required to stay in school until they are 18 years old; and 3) continuing to make critical investments so that students and teachers alike have the tools necessary to ensure that Michigan classrooms breed success and deliver opportunity.

We can’t afford to cut funding for education at the very moment when we need it the most to be competitive in the future. I’ve laid out a budget that is a blueprint for investing in our children and our schools, as well as in diversifying our economy, training and retraining Michigan workers, and providing universal access to affordable health care.

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