From the Office of the Governor

We make few investments in our schools that are as critical as those we make in the professional development of teachers and other school personnel. This should come as no surprise to anyone—there is no substitute for a competent, caring adult when it comes to helping our children hit the high goals we have set for them.

Given how high those goals are in Michigan today, we need quality professional development more than ever. Not only are our new K-8 grade level content expectations raising the bar in elementary and middle schools, but we are beginning a revolution in teaching and learning in our high schools as we implement our new rigorous high school curriculum.

Today, our ability to make the necessary investment in professional development and other critical aspects of education in our state is threatened by an unprecedented budget crisis. To be sure, we have had budget deficits in Michigan before. I know, because over the last four years, I have resolved some $4 billion in budget deficits. I am proud that during those years we were able to increase our investment in education while reducing virtually all other areas of state spending.

We now face a $3 billion budget deficit that we must resolve in a matter of months. It results from the continuing problems plaguing our auto industry and other manufacturers and from the legislature’s elimination of the Single Business Tax last year without replacing the $2 billion in revenue it generates.

The fiscal crisis we face today is born of the economic crisis that over the last five years has resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs in our state. To meet that challenge, we are now implementing the nation’s most comprehensive economic plan to get the new jobs we need in Michigan to build good lives for ourselves and our children. While our plan is creating jobs for people of all walks of life, most of these new jobs require higher levels of education than the jobs we have lost. To me this means one simple thing—we will only make our economic crisis worse if we try to solve our fiscal crisis by cutting education.

I have put a plan before the legislature that will resolve our budget deficit through a combination of new spending cuts, cost-cutting government reforms, and new revenues. It is a plan that will allow us to increase our investment in education. Investing in education, whether it is in improving professional development or expanding early childhood learning opportunities, is not an option for Michigan—it is a necessity. There is simply no future for our state that does not involve creating the most-skilled, best-educated workforce in the nation.

The decisions we make in the coming weeks will determine our state’s direction for years to come. I am proud to have the support of the education community as we wage this fight for Michigan’s future, and I urge all who care about educating our kids to make sure their voices are heard.