Michigans innovative job training program, No Worker Left Behind, is
celebrating its two-year anniversary this month. More than 88,000 people
have taken advantage of the program.
Demand for job training has been so
great that a few Michigan Works! agencies are getting to the point where all of
their current funds are spoken for.
Talking points:
No Worker Left Behind is
alive and well. A record number of people will be put into job training
classes this fall.
Anyone who has actually been
signed up for training this semester by their local Michigan Works! agency will
be enrolled. People who are in the process of assessing their strengths
and interests, and identifying appropriate training with their local counselors,
may need to go on a waiting list before they can start training.
The funding situation varies among the 25 Michigan Works!
agencies. None has actually spent all available funds. A few have
obligated almost all current funds to put people into training, meaning all of
their funds from the current program year and from the federal Recovery Act are
tied to particular workers who are in training or about to enter training.
Most Michigan Works! agencies are not in this situation. The Department of
Energy, Labor & Economic Growth is working to obtain additional targeted
funding to assist the areas facing the greatest financial crunch.
# # #
PK
r{;}3 3 G 2009/August-2009/What-the-Governors-talking-about-this-week-8-28-09.htm
Subject: What the Governor's talking about this week
What the Governor’s Talking about This
Week
Friday, Aug. 28, 2009
Governor Says New State Resource Offers a Helping Hand
On Wednesday the governor unveiled Helping Hand, a streamlined state Web
site that will help the unemployed and others enduring economic hardship to
easily find programs and services that may assist them.
By going to www.michigan.gov/helpinghand, people will see five color tabs labeled jobs and
training, unemployment benefits, health care, family support and housing. By clicking on those five tabs, people
will find links to programs and services for their particular areas of
need.
The state is partnering with Michigan Association of United Ways and
Michigan Community Action Agency Association to help the many thousands of
people facing economic hardship.
Helping Hand provides links to 2-1-1, the United Way system
that connects people with local information and resources. Community action agencies also are
pitching in by introducing people visiting agency offices to Helping Hand. Staff at community action agencies and
United
Way’s 2-1-1 also can help people fill out forms for
the assistance they’re seeking.
Talking points:
- Part of the Granholm administration’s effort to
streamline government is to use technology. If someone is seeking service, it
is much easier to access it online.
- For the first time, people can now apply for
food assistance online — they don’t have to visit a Department of Human
Services office. By answering a
few questions online, people can determine if they qualify for additional
assistance such as Medicaid.
- People also can file for unemployment benefits
online, and contact a homeownership counselor if facing foreclosure.
- Helping Hand is just the latest in a series of
actions the Granholm administration has taken to protect and better serve
Michigan
citizens during these tough economic times. They include asking Congress to extend
unemployment benefits, boosting staffing levels at state unemployment offices
to speed up service, enrolling more than 88,000 people for job training
through the No Worker Left Behind program, enacting a new state law giving
homeowners an extra 90 days to prevent foreclosure, and calling on auto
insurance companies to freeze rates for 12 months.
Granholm Administration Working to Bring High-Speed Rail
to Michigan
The governor on Monday rode an Amtrak train from Dearborn to Jackson to
spotlight the state’s application for up to $800 million in Recovery Act funds
to help bring high-speed rail service to a corridor stretching from Pontiac to
Detroit and Chicago.
The $800 million would be used for track and train control improvements,
corridor acquisition and construction or renovation of train stations. Long-term work on the high-speed
corridor could create up to 10,000 jobs in Michigan.
Talking points:
- The Granholm administration is committed to
bringing high-speed rail service to Michigan because of its benefits for
citizens. High-speed rail will
enhance our transportation system, create jobs and spur economic development,
and reduce air- pollutant emissions.
- The vision is high-speed rail service that’s
fast, frequent, reliable, safe and secure, and that uses modern equipment
which makes arriving and departing convenient. The goal is to shorten the time it
takes to travel from Detroit to Chicago to four hours and
increase the frequency of that trip to nine times a day.
- High-speed rail offers many potential benefits
to Michigan
communities. These include
increased economic development around train stations, better linkage among
colleges and universities, and a new way for tourists to travel to the Henry
Ford complex in Dearborn.
Galesburg Visit Highlights Eaton Corporation’s Role in Building
Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
On Thursday the governor visited Eaton Corporation in Galesburg to highlight the
company’s key role in a $45.4 million advanced-battery award by the U.S.
Department of Energy to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Michigan led the nation earlier this month
with the announcement of 12 awards totaling more than $1.35 billion in federal
grants for advanced-battery and electric-vehicle manufacturing and
development.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is working to develop a
plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle (PHEV) system for medium-duty utility and
delivery trucks and shuttle buses, including 387 PHEV Ford F-550 utility bucket
trucks to be placed in 50 utility and municipal fleets around the country. Eaton Corporation will produce the
hybrid power systems for the trucks.
Talking points:
- Funding for the federal grants for
advanced-battery and electric-vehicle manufacturing and development comes from
the Recovery Act.
- The grants awarded for the 12 Michigan projects are
estimated to create 6,800 jobs in the next 18 months and up to 40,000 jobs by
2020.
- Advanced battery manufacturing is one of the
targeted sectors in the Granholm administration’s strategic plan to diversify
Michigan’s
economy. The administration has been working since 2006 to establish an entire
advanced-battery industry in the state, creating new economic activity and new
jobs.
# # #
PK tA 2009/December-2009/PK
3;c c G 2009/December-2009/12-1-09-What-the-Governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009
3:47 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Local
Governments’ Ability to Provide Essential Services Hurt by Revenue Sharing
Cuts
Governor
Commends Bipartisanship Effort on Michigan Education
Reforms
Local Governments’ Ability to Provide
Essential Services Hurt by Revenue Sharing Cuts
To attract and retain residents and businesses,
communities must be able to provide police and fire protection, good roads,
water and sewer systems and other essential services. Cuts in revenue
sharing are making it difficult for many local governments to provide these
services, and are pushing some toward insolvency.
The Michigan House has passed HB 5403 that would
restore statutory revenue sharing for cities, villages and townships to the
amount actually received in the 2009 fiscal year. That bill is now pending
before the Michigan Senate.
Key messages:
• We are working to diversify Michigan’s
economy and create jobs. For Michigan communities to be attractive for
economic development, local governments must be able to provide essential
services.
• According to the Michigan Municipal League, revenue
sharing to local governments has been cut by more than $3 billion in the last
eight years, not including the most recent $111 million in cuts. As a
result, more than 1,800 police officers and 2,400 fire fighters have been laid
off in Michigan.
• The governor wants to restore funding for revenue
sharing so we can keep police officers and fire fighters on the job protecting
our communities.
Governor Commends Bipartisanship Effort
on Michigan Education Reforms
The governor today sent a letter to Speaker of the
House Andy Dillon and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop saying December marks a
crucial point in the effort to reform education in Michigan.
“President Obama and Secretary Duncan have
challenged us to be bold when it comes to improving our schools, and we are more
than ready to meet that challenge,” the governor said. “I am encouraged
and grateful for the bipartisan support the Race to the Top reforms have
engendered in both the state House and state Senate, and I want to personally
extend my appreciation to you for your commitment to pass education reforms
during this critical three-week period.”
“The reforms you stand poised to pass and that I am
prepared to sign into law will give us a stronger education system in Michigan —
the kind of education system that the new economy demands,” the governor
continued. “In the process, these reforms will position Michigan to
compete successfully in the Race to the Top.”
The education reforms would:
• Require school principals to be
certified
• Create high-quality alternative routes to certification for
both teachers and administrators to help bring more of our best and brightest
into education
• Give the State Superintendent of Public Instruction
clear authority to intervene in low-performing schools
• When failing
schools are clustered in a few school districts, allow systemic changes needed
to make individual school-turnaround possible
• Increase the number of
high-quality charter schools in Michigan
• Require an annual evaluation
of teachers, principals and other school leaders that uses student growth data
along with other factors
In the Obama administration’s Race to the Top
competition, all 50 states are racing to reform their education systems so
American children can compete in a global economy. Only a small number of
states will be winners. Each will receive as much as $500 million in
federal Recovery Act funds to improve their schools.
Key messages:
• Michigan can be one of the winning states
in the Race to the Top competition, but we don’t have a lot of time.
Critical education reforms must be in place before Christmas.
• While
each of these reforms meets a clear Race to the Top goal, each in its own right
will give us a stronger education system in Michigan.
• We need to
enact these reforms and then be one of the winning states in the Race to the Top
competition. This will allow us to build on those reforms an education
system that will be the foundation of a new Michigan.
# # #
PK
y~;cc
H 2009/December-2009/12-10-09-What-the-Governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Thursday, December 10,
2009 4:29 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Thursday, December 10,
2009
Governor Pauses Reduction in School Aid
Payments
Late this afternoon the governor announced that the
$127 per-pupil reduction in school aid payments to school districts is being
paused. The decision is due to school districts spending less than
authorized in 2009 and because of an unexpected increase in non-homestead
property tax values. A formal letter from state budget director Bob
Emerson advising lawmakers of the pause in the reduction was sent to the chairs
of the Senate and House appropriations committees earlier today.
Without the pause, state officials would have
processed the $127 per-pupil reduction in the December 20 school aid payments
today. In preparation for the payment reduction, the governor asked budget
and treasury officials for the latest information on the state school aid fund,
which precipitated today’s announcement.
The governor announced the $127 per-pupil reduction
on October 22 after treasury officials warned that declining state revenues
could lead to a potential revenue shortfall of $212 million in the fiscal year
2010 school aid budget.
Key messages:
• Unexpected changes in the school aid fund
brought about by a number of factors, including less spending by school
districts in fiscal year 2009, are resulting in a pause in the $127 per-pupil
reduction in state aid payments to schools.
• The changes in the school aid fund result from
school districts spending less than authorized in fiscal year 2009 and because
of an increase in non-homestead property tax values.
• The Granholm administration is committed to
providing school districts with the most up-to-date information on revenues that
is available so they can adjust their budgets accordingly.
• Today’s announcement does not impact the
$165 per-pupil reduction included in the fiscal year 2010 budget, or the $51
million veto of funds for 41 school districts in the state.
•
Michigan’s school funding crisis continues and the governor remains committed to
finding a way to ensure stable and adequate funding for public education next
year and beyond.
# # #
PK
l~;(R
R
H 2009/December-2009/12-11-09-What-the-Governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009
3:41 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about Today
Friday,
December 11, 2009
Governor Will Sign Smoking Ban
Legislation
The governor is applauding final action on House
Bill 4377 passed by the Legislature
on Thursday that will ban smoking in Michigan bars, restaurants and most other
workplaces beginning May 1, 2010. “It’s a terrific gift to Michigan,” she
said.
There are exceptions to the smoking ban: the gaming
floors of the three Detroit casinos (but casino bars, restaurants and hotels
must be smoke-free), tobacco specialty retail stores, existing cigar bars, home
offices and motor vehicles. The legislation also does not affect
Michigan’s 20 American Indian casinos.
When the governor signs the bill into law, Michigan
will be the 38th state with a workplace smoking ban.
Key messages:
• The governor has long supported a smoking
ban and has repeatedly called for it in her State of the State
addresses.
• Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause
of preventable death in Michigan, resulting in approximately 2,500 deaths each
year. Smoking-related illnesses in adults include heart disease, cancer,
stroke, chronic lower respiratory illnesses and diabetes. Children and
adolescents exposed to secondhand smoke can develop asthma, ear infections,
colds and pneumonia.
• Each year in Michigan, smoking is
responsible for $3.4 billion in health-care costs and $3.8 billion in lost
productivity.
# # #
PK
5i;{%9
H 2009/December-2009/12-14-09-What-the-Governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009
4:57 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Monday, December 14, 2009
Governor Signs Legislation Protecting
Customers of Municipal Utilities from Shutoffs
Late this
afternoon the governor signed the final five bills in a legislative package
providing increased protection from shutoffs for customers of municipal
utilities. The governor signed the other three bills in the package on
November 23.
The five bills:
• Govern shutoff notices and procedures for
customers of municipal utilities
• Protect eligible low-income and senior
citizen customers from utility shutoffs
• Permit the attorney general or a customer
to bring a civil action against a municipal utility in shutoff cases involving
serious injury or death
• Require municipal utilities to make efforts
to identify customers age 65 or older
• Require the Department of Human Services to
supply, at the request of energy providers, information about people who have
applied for or are receiving public assistance. The information will be used to
reach out to people on ways they can reduce energy costs and prevent utility
shutoffs.
The bills signed by the governor today are House
Bill 4658, sponsored by State Representative Andy Neumann (D-Alpena); House Bill
4673, sponsored by State Representative Jeff Mayes (D-Bay City); Senate Bill
553, sponsored by State Senator John Pappageorge (R-Troy); Senate Bill 554,
sponsored by State Senator Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw); and Senate Bill 557,
sponsored by State Senator Bruce Patterson (R-Canton).
Key messages:
• In these tough economic times, more and
more people are having difficulty paying their utility bills. Customers of
municipal utilities now have the same protections against shutoffs that
customers of utilities regulated by the Michigan Public Service Commission
have.
• Regarding utility shutoffs and other
emergencies such as foreclosures, the state’s Helping Hand Web site can help
people get the assistance they need. People also can apply for food
assistance and unemployment benefits through the Helping Hand Web site, which
can be found at michigan.gov/helpinghand.
# # #
PK
s; H 2009/December-2009/12-15-09-What-the-Governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
2:26 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Governor Announces More Than
9,000 New and Retained Jobs for Michigan
The governor announced this afternoon that the
Michigan Economic Development Corporation is helping 10 companies grow in
Michigan and also is backing eight brownfield redevelopment projects.
Combined, the 18 projects are expected to create 6,804 new jobs (2,236 direct
and 4,418 indirect), retain 2,263 jobs and generate over $672 million in new
investment in the state.
The Michigan Economic Growth
Authority (MEGA) approved incentives for the 18 projects at its meeting today.
The companies include GlobalWatt, a new-to-Michigan business that will assemble
crystalline silicon solar panels in Saginaw, and Skilled Manufacturing, a
Traverse City automotive parts manufacturer that plans to expand into the
aerospace sector. The eight brownfield redevelopments – two each in Benton
Harbor and Detroit, and single projects in Cadillac, Grand Rapids, Livonia and
Traverse City – will transform abandoned and contaminated sites into new centers
of economic growth and activity.
Key messages:
• Companies are taking advantage of our
excellent work force, competitive business climate and innovative economic
development tools to locate or expand in Michigan. Our aggressive strategy
to diversify and grow Michigan’s economy is working.
• Today’s announcement reflects three levels
of diversification occurring in Michigan: new industries that previously didn’t
exist, existing companies such as auto suppliers diversifying into other sectors
such as aerospace, and diversification within the auto industry itself with
vehicle electrification.
• These projects demonstrate that the state
and local communities can partner and make strong business cases to win
investment and jobs from the world’s most innovative companies over competing
locations not only in the United States, but all over the world.
• Since January 2009, nearly 100,000 new and
retained jobs have been announced as a result of the MEGA program.
# # #
PK
|;?F\ \ H 2009/December-2009/12-16-09-What-the-Governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Wednesday, December 16,
2009 4:18 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
- In Kalamazoo, Governor
Highlights Recovery Act Housing Help for Families
- Governor
Helps Weatherize Lansing Home to
Spotlight Home Weatherization Program
In Kalamazoo, Governor Highlights
Recovery Act Housing Help for Families
The governor this afternoon met in Kalamazoo with
residents struggling to stay in their homes who are finding help through a
federal program designed to keep families from becoming homeless and to help the
newly-homeless find stable housing.
The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development allocated more than $1.51 million in Homelessness
Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP) funds to the city of Kalamazoo
and to the Affordable Housing Partnership (AHP), the lead agency for the local
Continuum of Care collaborative overseeing and directing the program.
Statewide, the Recovery Act is providing more than $53.1 million for HPRP.
The AHP estimates that HPRP funds will provide 200 to 225
households in Kalamazoo County with homelessness prevention assistance and 50 to
75 households with rapid re-housing assistance during the program’s two-year
duration.
Key messages:
• The downturn in the national economy has
hit Michigan families hard, leaving many people on the brink of losing their
homes. Thanks to Recovery Act dollars and a dedicated group of state and
local partners, people are finding the help they need to stay in their homes,
take care of their families and get back on their feet.
• Keeping Michigan families safe and secure
in stable, permanent housing remains one of the top priorities of the Granholm
administration. The Recovery Act is helping us achieve that goal for
thousands of Michigan residents.
Governor Helps Weatherize Lansing Home to Spotlight Home
Weatherization Program
This morning,
the governor assisted workers in weatherizing a Lansing home to highlight the
benefits of the state’s Weatherization Assistance Program in helping to reduce
energy costs and improve energy efficiency in the homes of low-income families
throughout the state. Michigan received more than $243 million in Recovery
Act funds for weatherization projects in more than 30,000 homes over the next
three years.
The Lansing home the governor worked on received
added insulation in the attic and crawl-space, fresh caulk to seal doors and
windows, and a new dehumidifier. The total investment in the home was
approximately $2,700.
The weatherization program works to
permanently reduce energy costs for low-income families through the installation
of household energy-efficiency measures while ensuring their health and
safety. The program is administered by the Michigan Department of Human
Services and implemented in communities by the state’s 30 community action
agencies.
Key messages:
• The Recovery Act investment in Michigan’s
weatherization program enables us to help thousands of citizens who are
struggling to keep their homes heated and their budgets balanced during
difficult times.
• In addition to reducing home energy costs,
the weatherization program creates jobs for local workers and provides increased
opportunities for the Michigan-based businesses that make and sell the
energy-efficient products being installed.
• On average, weatherization reduces heating
bills by 25 percent and overall energy expenditures by $350 to $400 per
year. Since the program began, 273,620 Michigan homes have been
weatherized. Reduced energy costs have allowed families to spend their
savings on groceries, doctor bills and other needs.
# # #
PK
$<}u- H 2009/December-2009/12-17-09-What-the-Governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Thursday, December 17,
2009 4:02 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Governor Speaks at Magna, Chrysler Events
Celebrating Michigan Investments
The governor spoke today at events in Grand Blanc
Township and Auburn Hills to celebrate investments in Michigan by Magna
Electronics and Chrysler.
This morning the governor joined Magna Electronics
President Carlos Mazzorin at the company’s Grand Blanc Township facility.
Magna is investing more than $70 million to expand its existing facility and
develop an adjacent brownfield facility to begin producing next-generation
motors and state-of-the-art electric propulsion systems for hybrid and electric
vehicles.
On Tuesday the Michigan Economic Growth Authority
board approved a tax credit for the project which will create 525 direct jobs
and an estimated 1,241 indirect jobs.
The governor said the Flint area has “a wonderful
history of manufacturing the automobile with the internal combustion
engine. But now, the transformation to produce the next vehicle – with the
next vehicle being the electric vehicle – that’s a great story for this
community, a community that has been disproportionately battered by the
challenges the auto industry has been experiencing.”
“For the 525 people who will be newly employed – on
behalf of them, thank you,” the governor said. “And on behalf of the 10
million citizens in Michigan, for whom this represents a huge beacon of hope,
thank you.”
In Auburn Hills, the governor and Chrysler CEO
Sergio Marchionne celebrated Chrysler’s $179 million investment in its Dundee
engine plant to build a 1.4-liter, 4-cylinder engine for the Fiat 500
minicar. The project will create 155 direct jobs and an estimated 418
indirect jobs with production slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Chrysler’s investment also was aided by a state tax
credit, and the governor pledged that the state would continue to work with
Chrysler to develop a strong business case for future investment.
Key messages:
• Today’s celebrations are further evidence
that our economic strategy to focus on economic sectors such as alternative
energy and advanced manufacturing is working. This strategy capitalizes on
Michigan’s existing strengths in automotive research and
manufacturing.
• Magna’s project supports our vision of
making Michigan a center for vehicle electrification, with Magna producing
next-generation motors and state-of-the-art electric propulsion systems for
hybrid and electric vehicles.
• Chrysler’s project, which features a
flexible workforce, aligns with our strategy to make Michigan a leader in 21st
century advanced manufacturing.
• Strong partnerships between the state and
local communities also are necessary to secure investments like these in
Michigan.
# # #
PK
$<\#
H 2009/December-2009/12-18-09-What-the-Governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009
5:09 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Friday, December 18, 2009
Governor Signs Smoking Ban
Legislation
This afternoon the governor signed legislation that
will prohibit smoking in public places such as restaurants, bars and hotels, or
any place that serves food or beverages. The Ron M. Davis Law, named after
the late chief medical officer of the Michigan Department of Public Health,
takes effect May 1, 2010, and will make Michigan the 38th state to ban smoking
in public places.
The governor signed the legislation during a
ceremony inside the Michigan Brewing Company, a downtown Lansing
restaurant. State Senator Ray Basham (D-Taylor), a longtime advocate for
the smoking ban, spoke briefly along with bill sponsor State Representative Lee
Gonzales (D-Flint) and State Senator Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks). She
thanked all of the legislators present for the strong bipartisan support that
the smoking ban received.
The governor noted that about 53,000
people die annually from second smoke, 2,500 of them in Michigan.
“For Michigan’s health, this was important for our
future,” the governor said. “Thank you to all of those who have been
fighting for this for years.”
Key messages:
• The governor has long supported a smoking
ban, repeatedly calling for one in her State of the State
addresses.
• Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause
of preventable death in Michigan. Smoking-related illnesses in adults
include heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory illnesses and
diabetes. Children and adolescents exposed to secondhand smoke can develop
asthma, ear infections, colds and pneumonia.
• The new law allows exemptions for the
gaming floors at the three Detroit casinos, but the other casino bars and
eateries must be smoke-free, including the casinos’ restaurants and
hotels. Michigan’s 20 American-Indian casinos are not covered by state
law. Cigar bars, tobacco specialty shops, home offices, commercial trucks
and motor vehicles are also exempt.
• Individuals and business owners who violate
the law will be subject to penalties of $100 for the first offense and $500 for
subsequent offenses.
# # #
PK
&;OT G 2009/December-2009/12-2-09-What-the-governor-is-talking-about-today.htm
From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Wednesday, December 02,
2009 1:36 PM
Subject: What the governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Layoffs of People
Providing Essential Services Harm Our Communities, Governor
Says
Governor Says Education
Reforms Will Position Michigan for Race to the Top Competition; Bipartisan
Legislative Action Needed This Month
Layoffs of People Providing Essential
Services Harm Our Communities, Governor Says
The governor is in Washington, D.C. today and
tomorrow along with other Democratic governors to advocate for policy changes
and job-creation strategies that can be especially powerful for states like
Michigan that have been hardest hit by the nation’s economic crisis. The
governor’s trip comes as President Obama prepares to convene a White House Jobs
Summit and Congress continues to debate job-creation strategies.
The governor noted the cascading effect of the
national economic crisis on states and local governments.
“Our country’s ongoing economic challenges
translate at the state level into budget crises that threaten existing jobs for
local police officers, fire fighters and school teachers,” Granholm said.
“Layoffs of people who provide essential services harm our communities and are a
drag on national recovery efforts.”
State revenue sharing payments to local governments
have been cut by more than $3 billion in the last eight years, resulting in the
layoffs of more than 1,800 police officers and 2,400 fire fighters.
Continued cuts are making it difficult for many local governments to provide
essential services, and are pushing some toward insolvency.
Key messages:
• The governor wants to restore funding for
revenue sharing so local governments can continue providing essential services.
• We are working to diversify Michigan’s
economy and create jobs. For Michigan communities to be attractive for
economic development, local governments must be able to provide essential
services.
• The Michigan House has passed HB 5403 that
would restore statutory revenue sharing for cities, villages and townships to
the amount actually received in the 2009 fiscal year. That bill is now
pending before the Michigan Senate.
Governor Says Education Reforms Will
Position Michigan for Race to the Top Competition; Bipartisan Legislative Action
Needed This Month
In an address to the Network of Michigan Educators
on Tuesday in Lansing, the governor said that Michigan must enact comprehensive
reforms in the next three weeks to strengthen the state’s education system for a
new knowledge-based economy and position the state to successfully compete in
the Obama administration’s Race to the Top competition.
In the
Race to the Top competition being conducted by the U.S. Department of Education,
all 50 states are racing to reform their education systems so American children
can compete in a global economy. Only a small number of states will be
winners. Each will receive as much as $500 million in federal Recovery Act
funds to improve their schools.
To strengthen Michigan’s education
system and position the state to be a winner in the Race to the Top, the state
legislature must enact and the governor must sign into law legislation that
achieves the following reforms:
• Require school principals
to be certified
• Create high-quality alternative routes to
certification for both teachers and administrators to help bring more of our
best and brightest into education
• Give the state superintendent of public
instruction clear authority to intervene in low-performing schools
• When failing schools are clustered in a few
school districts, allow state intervention to make individual school turnaround
possible
• Increase the number of high-quality charter
schools in Michigan
• Require an annual evaluation of teachers,
principals and other school leaders that uses student-growth data along with
other factors
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.
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