Governor Highlights Education Initiatives

Investing in education was a high priority in Governor Doyle's State of the State address Tuesday (January 30, 2007). The governor:

• Promoted his "Wisconsin Covenant," which guarantees that today's 8th-graders who sign an agreement, stay in school, demonstrate citizenship, and maintain a B average will be admitted to college in Wisconsin after graduation and receive a financial package if necessary. "I don't want any high school kid to think college isn't for them, or that it's only for rich people," Doyle said. "I want every boy and girl to know ... with the Wisconsin Covenant, college is within your grasp, just reach for it."
• Called for a mandatory third year of math and science for high school graduation.
• Announced he will triple funding to give kids access to the school breakfast program. Right now, Wisconsin ranks 50th in school breakfast participation.
• Urged the Legislature to approve a major investment to reduce class sizes from kindergarten to 3rd grade.

"Smaller classes, higher standards, good nutrition, a strong start in life, and a ticket to college for every kid willing to work for it: that's our education agenda, an agenda of opportunity," Doyle said.

The governor will address funding issues for these and other programs when he presents his proposed state budget to the Legislature February 13.

In his State of the State address, the governor also unveiled a plan to ensure that 98% of Wisconsin's citizens have access to health care coverage, to cut health care costs, and to reduce medical errors.

"The simple truth is, the time has come for the wealthiest nation in the world to provide access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance for its citizens – and Wisconsin can lead the way," Doyle said.

The governor's plan includes:

• Offering health care coverage to every child in Wisconsin. Low-income families would enroll their children into BadgerCare Plus, while families at higher incomes would be able to buy into the program, starting at about $10 a month.
• Expanding coverage to adults making up to 200% of the poverty level, whether they have children or not. This would help 71,000 men and women get the health care they need.
• Creating a purchasing pool to help businesses – particularly small businesses – afford catastrophic health care coverage for employees.
• Investing $30 million to help doctors and hospitals use technology to eliminate costly medical errors.

Doyle said the federal government will cover most of the costs – bringing an additional $60 million from Washington. The state's share will include money saved by streamlining the program and taking greater advantage of managed care, he said.

The governor also presented his anti-smoking initiative to increase Wisconsin's tobacco tax by $1.25 a pack, triple funding for smoking prevention programs in the state, and make all public buildings and workplaces completely smoke-free.

"I've devoted much of my public career to this fight," Doyle said. "Despite our progress, too many of our kids are still lighting up, too many lives are being cut short, and the cost has swelled into the billions. We know that smoking is an addiction. We know how hard it is to quit. And that's why we are launching a major new initiative to help Wisconsin citizens quit smoking and live healthier."

The governor's complete address

Posted January 31, 2007