February 17, 2006
February 17, 2006
Governor Repeats Call to Legislature to Act on Curriculum Recommendations
LANSING – In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today repeated her call to the Legislature to act on recommendations from the State Board of Education for a rigorous high school curriculum in Michigan. This proposal is an essential step in the administration’s long-term goal of building a stronger Michigan and a diverse economy that will keep kids in the state.
“As our economy continues to undergo transition, more and more of our jobs will require math and science skills in the years ahead,” Granholm said. “Job providers will increasingly depend on, and expect, a highly educated and highly skilled Michigan workforce.”
Granholm said the state must increase efforts to give our children the math and science education they need to succeed in the 21st century. In addition to urging the Legislature to act in time for the new curriculum to be in place for the new school year, she has proposed a budget for the upcoming school year that pushes education funding to its highest levels ever.
Granholm called for new curriculum requirements last year, and the State Board of Education presented their recommendations in December 2005. The new curriculum requirements proposed will help establish a highly educated, highly skilled workforce for the high-tech employers the administration is working to attract and grow in Michigan through the $2 billion Jobs for Michigan Fund.
Granholm pointed to BioPort Corporation as a great example of why she is working hard to make Michigan schools the best in the nation. Earlier this week, BioPort announced it will invest $75 million to expand its existing facility in Lansing to keep hundreds of high-tech jobs here rather than a competing site in Maryland.
“The world is changing, and we have to change with it if we want great jobs and a great future for our families,” Granholm said.
The Governor’s weekly radio address is released each Friday at 10:00 a.m. and may be heard on broadcast stations across that state through an affiliation with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. The address will also be available on the Governor’s Website on Mondays as a podcast for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers.
Broadcasters Note: Governor Granholm’s radio address can be accessed through Sunday evening exclusively through the Members Only page of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters website.
Publishers Note: The text of today’s address is attached.
