From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 3:54 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about Today
Thursday, December 3, 2009
 
Governor Meeting with Local Leaders Tomorrow in Grand Rapids on Revenue Sharing
 
On Friday the governor will be in Grand Rapids to meet with West Michigan local government and public safety officials to talk about the impact that revenue sharing cuts have had on their communities, and the need to restore funding.  Next week the governor will attend similar regional meetings in Flint and Southgate.
 
Key messages:
 
•  Revenue sharing cuts have contributed to the fact that we now have 2,000 fewer police officers and 2,400 fewer professional fire fighters protecting our communities than we had in 2001.  We need to restore funding for revenue sharing to prevent further erosion in the numbers of police officers and fire fighters in Michigan.
 
•  When revenue sharing cuts force local governments to lay off personnel or not fill open positions, it harms our communities and is a drag on our state and national recovery efforts.
 
•  This is also an economic development issue.  We are working to diversify Michigan’s economy and create jobs.  To attract and retain businesses, communities must be able to provide police and fire protection, good roads, water and sewer systems and other essential services.
 
Legislature Makes Progress on Education Reforms
 
This week the House and Senate began voting on various bills that will help Michigan compete in the Race to the Top competition.  Education reforms need to be enacted before lawmakers adjourn later this month to position Michigan to be one of the winning states in the Race to the Top.
 
Key messages:
 
•  Race to the Top reflects President Obama’s and Secretary of Education Duncan’s desire to move education in this country to new heights.  Just as we have set a goal to double the number of college graduates in Michigan, President Obama has set an ambitious goal for our nation:  to once again lead the world in the share of our population with college degrees by 2020.  The president has said that nothing else we do is as important to American prosperity.  That’s true for Michigan as well — nothing else we do is as important for the prosperity and future of Michigan.
 
•  While each of these reforms meets a specific Race to the Top goal, each in its own right will give us a stronger education system in Michigan.
 
•  No state needs to be a winner in the Race to the Top more than Michigan — not just financially, but from the long-term perspective of changing the state’s economy.
 
•  Race to the Top is an opportunity to tell the nation and the world just who we are: a state committed to the fundamental change, the systemic change, the deep change that the future demands.  We must transform education in Michigan, and we must be fearless in our determination to do so.
 
# # #