March 14, 2008
Radio address highlights governor's budget proposal for school equity
LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today emphasized that her 2009 budget recommendation is based on a fair funding formula for schools and that she will continue to fight for that proposal as it works its way through the Legislature.
"Today, there are huge differences in funding between our school districts - as much as $5,000 per pupil in some cases," Granholm said. "At a time when we are asking all our schools to hit the same high standards, that funding gap just doesn't make sense."
The governor noted that she submitted a budget to the Legislature last month that would make important investments in education that are not only important to our children and their future but are critical to Michigan's economic recovery.
"The businesses we want to grow in Michigan have one thing in common," Granholm said. "They want an educated, skilled workforce, and because we believe that all our children are important and equally valued, we need to move step by step to close the indefensible gap in school funding in Michigan."
The governor's weekly radio address is released each Friday morning and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state. The address is available on the governor's Web site at (
www.michigan.gov/gov
) for download, together with a clip of the quote above. The radio address is also available as a podcast on the Web site, as well as on iTunes and via RSS feed for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers. Links to the audio files and text of today's address follow.
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
Radio Address - School Equity Radio Address
March 14, 2008
Hello, this is Governor Jennifer Granholm.
Last month, I submitted a budget to the Legislature that would make important new investments in education in Michigan. Not only are these investments important to our children and their future, they are critical to Michigan's economic recovery.
The businesses we want to grow in Michigan have one thing in common - they want an educated, skilled workforce.
And that's why we are now giving all high school graduates in our state the opportunity to earn a $4,000 Michigan Promise scholarship when they go on to college or get technical training. And that's why we want all Michigan students to take the rigorous courses in high school they need to succeed in college and in the workplace.
You'll find that little three-letter word - all - throughout our education agenda, because we believe that ALL our children must have the opportunity to get a good education and the good-paying jobs it leads to. To make good on that commitment to all our children, my budget takes an important step toward fairness in how we finance our schools.
Today, there are huge differences in funding between our school districts - as much as $5,000 per pupil in some cases. At a time when we are asking all our schools to hit the same high standards, that funding gap just does not make sense.
To close that gap, my budget would give the largest increases in the year ahead to the districts that now have the lowest funding. The proposal won't close the gap overnight, but it does narrow it today while underscoring the need to do even more tomorrow.
This week, in the Legislature's first action on the education section of my budget, unfortunately, a Senate subcommittee rejected this fair funding proposal, along with proposals I made to keep kids from dropping out of high school and make sure all Michigan children can attend a full-day kindergarten. We won't move our economy forward by leaving some children behind when it comes to school funding.
Fortunately, the subcommittee's action is the first word in the legislative process, not the last word. This bill will soon come before the full Senate. When it does, I will urge senators to take a strong stand for equity in school finance by passing this fair funding proposal.
One of the most important lessons we teach our children is that we should always strive to be fair. Our current system of school funding is anything but fair.
And because we believe that all our children are important, all our children are equally valued, we need to move step by step to close the indefensible gap in school funding in Michigan.
Thank you for listening.
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