Thank you.
I appreciate the VASSP and your role in advocating on behalf of the needs of Virginia's public school system. It's a big job, and it requires each and every one of us working together to make positive change.
And I'm running for Governor to continue my career in public service by working hard to create opportunity and prosperity and hope in every corner of Virginia.
That's going to take a Governor who wakes up every day with an understanding of the challenges our teachers and school administrators face everyday:
I grew up the product of Virginia's public schools and the grandson of two Virginia schoolteachers. My maternal grandmother spent more than 40 years in the classroom, retiring in 1964 from Rockbridge County schools having never earned a college degree.
All four of my children were raised in Virginia public schools.
We also need a Governor with a vision for keeping our children on the path to success with a detailed vision for creating better schools and better jobs.
We need to build on what Mark Warner and Tim Kaine started by finally investing in universal pre-k education for every Virginia child.
We need to increase teacher pay to at least the national average because we can't expect excellence if we aren't even willing to pay for average.
And we can't expect to solve the challenges of tomorrow if we continue to fall behind the rest of the world in math and science. That's why we need to incentivize teachers to go into math and science education, and we need those teachers to go into the toughest school districts."
We need a Governor who knows what it means to stay and fight for education.
It's why I stood with the education leaders in this room and demanded no permanent cuts to public schools during this year's difficult budget fight.
It's why I stood with Mark Warner during the 2004 budget reform battle, when we worked in a bipartisan way with this organization, the VEA, higher education, the business community and others - winning the largest single investment in K-12 education in Virginia history.
It's why I worked against George Allen's budget-balancing plan to cut $400 million from public schools.
Now yesterday you heard from my opponent, Bob McDonnell.
While I respect his public service, I do not respect his consistent efforts throughout his entire career in public service to reverse the recent progress we've made in K-12 and higher education under Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
So I say to you today that I am the best-prepared candidate to be Virginia's next education Governor. And as Governor, my priorities in education will be clear:
We must ensure access to quality pre-kindergarten programs.
Everyone in this room understands that the most critical time for a child's brain development is in the first five years, so it is no wonder that 4-year olds who attend preschool perform much better than children who don't.
And we all recognize that children from middle- or upper-class families are much more likely to attend preschool and better face the challenges of adulthood than children from lower-income families who are unable to afford quality pre-K.
I was proud to support Governor Kaine's Start Strong Initiative that gives children from lower-income families the help they need. And last year, I fought hard for $122 million in funds for pre-k. This initial investment in pre-k represents the beginning of a long-term commitment to starting our children off on the right track.
Another of my priorities will be to take care of Virginia's school administrators and teachers who spend each day caring for our children in our schools.
Each year, talented and dedicated teachers leave Virginia classrooms for better-paying positions in North Carolina and other surrounding states. I'm sure you've repeatedly seen it in your own schools.
In 2006-07, Virginia ranked 31st in the nation in average teacher salary, down from 20th in the nation as recently as 2004.
We can do better. That's why I wrote legislation requiring our teacher's salaries be no less then the national average. I will make it a priority to take care of the professional educators who take care of our children.
And I have a detailed plan to try to stop the loss of so many talented education professionals in the first years of teaching.
I've proposed forgiving the student loans for teachers who are committed to serve in high-need disciplines, such as science, technology, engineering or math.
The same goes for teachers willing to work in hard-to-staff schools in our rural and urban communities. For every three years of service, Virginia will forgive one year of their student loans.
I have fought for these principles during my career as a legislator, and I will continue to fight for an even better education system in our Commonwealth as our next Governor.
Thank you for your service, and thank you for inviting me to speak with you today.
