We've talked for years about building this seamless system of schools. And programs like youth options, school-to-work, 2+2+2 and a new Virtual Technical High School are laying the foundation. Now, it's time to get it done.
I'm calling on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and the Wisconsin Technical College System Board to meet and overcome the final barriers to a truly integrated system of higher education.
Our K-12 schools must be the foundation for this new seamless system. Our schools are good. But being good today is not good enough for tomorrow.
Competition is clearly helping us build strong schools and improve the education of our children. Nowhere is this more evident than in charter schools, where the collaboration between parents and educators is awe-inspiring.
Just look at the Milwaukee Science Consortium – a new charter school developed by UW-Milwaukee and the Medical College of Wisconsin that will emphasize science and math. Can you think of a better idea for a school for the science-based economy of the next century?
The opportunity for these education partnerships must be available statewide, so I am proposing an expansion of the charter school program to allow any state university or technical college to develop its own school.
If we put power back in the hands of our parents and educators, they will create an education revolution that builds the dynamic schoolroom of the future.
Competition can help us push our students harder in math and science as well.
Sheppard Mollick, a parent and school board member from suburban Milwaukee, wants to stimulate more interest in science in his community by starting a science fair. Shep, it's a great idea, but let's take it even further by creating a State Science Fair. The winner would receive a full scholarship for their undergraduate and graduate studies at any University of Wisconsin System School.
We must also do a better job teaching our children to read, for reading is fundamental to all learning.
A recent National Education Goals Panel Report shows that progress in reading scores by Wisconsin fourth-graders has remained flat since 1992. That's not good enough for America's Education State.
To push Wisconsin forward, I am proposing an aggressive Excellence in Reading Initiative that:
⋅ Directs $1 million to develop innovative reading academies around the state.
⋅ Invests $350,000 to distribute the "best reading practices" over the Internet.
⋅ And convenes a statewide Governor's Reading Summit to be chaired by our First Lady, Sue Ann Thompson, with the help of Barbara Manthei of the Governor's Office of Literacy.
Our children must spend more time reading books and less time trading Pokemon cards.
If our children can't read, they can't participate in the new economy.
As we push our children and teachers harder, let's make sure we are rewarding success in the process. A new program called Award for Achievement creates a stronger correlation between the performance of our schools and the earning potential of our educators.
The framework for this program would set standards of accountability, such as:
⋅ Schools would have to test 95 percent of their students
⋅ Scores would have to improve for all students, including disadvantaged.
⋅ Schools would have to show year-to-year gains on measures such as achievement tests, attendance and dropout rates
⋅ And we would maintain local control by making participation voluntary to start.
If the performance of the students goes up in these areas – all staff in that school will receive financial awards of up to $3,000. If a school maintains the status quo or recedes – the public will certainly hold them accountable and changes will be made.
The Face of the Future in education demands that we set high standards and push our students to achieve. And when our students do, we should award those who taught them.
Finally, learning in the future must literally start from birth – whether in the home or the child care center. We're ready to create five new Early Learning Childhood Centers that utilize the latest innovations for developing the brain and stimulating learning in our children. From newborns to toddlers, these centers will start exposing our children to foreign languages, classical music, drama and reading. They'll paint, perform science experiments and dive into computer programs.
I want to thank the Legislature for their bipartisan support of these centers. Our investment will make sure even the most at-risk children enter school ready to learn.
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By changing the face of our schools, we will prepare our people to succeed in the jobs of tomorrow. But Wisconsin's competitiveness also calls us to change the Face of the Future in travel, energy and taxation.
Business travel in the future will improve as high-speed rail ties together air, road and mass transit options – allowing us to choose the fastest and most efficient means.
To spur this change along, I am calling for a $50 million state investment in the Midwest Rail Initiative, linking Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago with Amtrak's fastest trains. As chairman of Amtrak, I will be seeking $100 million in federal money to match our investment.
The Dane County Regional Airport will become the model for tomorrow's transportation hub in America: a one-stop access point for air, rail and ground travel. Soon, the business traveler will fly from Washington to Milwaukee, jump on a high-speed train to Madison,
then catch a bus to drop her at her doorstep just in time for dinner with the family cooked by her husband. No more lengthy layovers in airports or cars stranded in parking ramps.
Let's get high-speed rail running in Wisconsin by the year 2003.
Next, we must produce enough energy to power our new economy. We simply cannot tolerate situations like that of Proctor and Gamble in Green Bay, which shut down operations for 82 hours last summer due to a shortage of power.
In the past two years, we've come together, in a bipartisan fashion with business and environmental interests, to create a more efficient process for expanding our energy infrastructure and develop the nation's first transmission company.
Now, we must get more transmission lines built in an environmentally safe and secure way. And then we must create a first-of-its-kind Generation Company to produce more power within our borders. The Genco will grow our generation capabilities by pooling and sharing energy resources in the state.
Remaining competitive with neighboring states means improving our tax code as well. Let's work together to level the playing field and implement single factor. This one tax change alone could directly result in 67,000 new jobs. And job creation is good for both political parties.
We must also make sure our tax policies continue to empower the workers of Wisconsin by letting them keep more of their hard-earned money. We are in the midst of the most aggressive and consistent era of cutting taxes in state history. Look at what we've accomplished for Wisconsin families:
In the past 14 years, we cut taxes more than 90 times saving the average Wisconsin family a remarkable $8,300!
This past fall alone we cut taxes by more than $1 billion – saving families $522 through a rebate, income tax reduction, and property tax cut.
The ongoing investment in our people is paying off with a red-hot economy that churned out yet another surplus of $380 million.
We should give the people another dividend. Now that we can afford the property tax rent credit, let's restore it. Get it to my desk.
What we must not do with this surplus, however, is go on an election-year spending binge. We absolutely do not need to spend all this money.
With wise planning and fiscal prudence, we can change the face of the Wisconsin taxpayer into a happy one.
Ladies and gentlemen, without a doubt, the Face of the Future in Wisconsin promises to be the healthiest ever.
The technological advances produced by the new economy will help our children grow stronger and our adults live longer.
But improved health care and pharmaceutical discoveries come with a price. We must make sure health coverage remains affordable for families and seniors.
BadgerCare is proving to be a Godsend for low-income working families like Bruce and Marge Carr. Bruce and Marge were working hard to provide for their two boys when they were suddenly blessed with triplets. Unable to afford their health premiums with five mouths to feed, BadgerCare filled the void.
In just six months, almost 53,000 people have bought into this insurance program. And we're working aggressively with Milwaukee Public Schools to get low-income uninsured children into BadgerCare. Let's make sure this popular program can meet its growing demand by creating an $11 million reserve fund.
As our population grows older, a premium will be placed on keeping health costs for seniors affordable as well. Family Care will give seniors affordable long-term care through an array of choices to meet their specific needs and keep them at home. I'm pleased to announce that Family Care will start this year in Fond du Lac, Portage and La Crosse counties.
Seniors also are facing a crisis with skyrocketing prescription drug costs. The price for these drugs is rising seven times higher than the rate of inflation and faster than the ability to pay for someone on a fixed income.
Tonight, I am proposing a Low-Income Prescription Drug Savings Plan that will save needy seniors citizens $792 a year in drug costs.
Anyone over the age of 65 with an income below 185 percent of the federal poverty level will be eligible. The program:
⋅ Cuts the prices for the most expensive and high volume drugs covered by Medicaid.
⋅ Passes the savings to low-income seniors who pay for medications out of pocket.
⋅ Requires pharmacies to charge no more than the Medicaid reimbursement rate for low-income Medicare beneficiaries.
⋅ Expands Medicaid eligibility to the federal poverty level for seniors and disabled.
⋅ Provides participants with an easy-to-use prescription card.
I am encouraged that nearly everyone in this chamber agrees we need to tackle this problem. Let's come together this session on a solution.
While technological and pharmaceutical advances will help us live longer and healthier – there are things we can do to help ourselves and others.
First, stop smoking.
Let's make this the century we took cigarettes out of the mouths of children.
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To help make that vision a reality, the Tobacco Control Board will direct millions of dollars towards eliminating the use of tobacco – especially by our young people. Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that Dr. Ernestine Willis of the Medical College of Wisconsin will chair the board, while Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Superintendent John Benson will be among its members.
As for helping others, start by signing the organ donor card on your driver's license. There are thousands of inspiring stories in Wisconsin of how this simple act saves lives. Tonight, the Truitt and Arrowood families would like to tell you their story.
Together, we must fight harder than ever to block Washington's attempts to unnecessarily force successful states like Wisconsin to send their organs to far-away states. This will cost lives in Wisconsin and needlessly waste organs.
Our successful regional procurement program helps thousands of our neighbors as well.
I'd like to introduce to you Son Ja and James Jones, two Iowa residents. You probably heard of their story. Son Ja just received a double transplant at our renowned University of Wisconsin Hospital. James plays defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions.
After the surgery, James was good enough to remind us how fortunate we are in Wisconsin to have such a great organ procurement program and a surgeon such as Dr. Hans Sollinger. The Joneses are thankful we shared our good fortune with them.
Now James, we're delighted to see that Son Ja is doing so well. But if you wanted to really show your thanks, the next time Dorsey Levens is running near you on the football field, could you slip or something?
In Washington and across America the cry for health care reform has resulted in little more than a whisper of progress. If they stop talking and look at Wisconsin they'll see action, not rhetoric, and the face of real health care reform.
Ladies and gentleman, it goes without saying that the Face of Future in Wisconsin will bear a great big smile.
We love to have fun. And we love to enjoy our great outdoors.
So while working hard to build the new economy, let's not forget to take time to build our recreational opportunities as well.
There's no better place to start than State Fair Park and the largest renovation since its inception.
We will begin this year by constructing the Millennium Gate – a more warm and welcoming entrance into the park. And let's put the Midway along the highway, making it more visible and attractive to fair-goers Imagine the big-eyes and excited faces of our children as they peer out the car window to see the bright lights and bustling activity of the fair.
The new gateway will welcome visitors to improved grounds, a new racetrack and better agriculture facilities, such as a $2 million renovation to the dairy barn. We're going to call these new facilities, "Moo U," where agriculture classes will be conducted throughout the year.
We're also creating a new "Marketplace," with restaurants and retail shops. And a new Exposition Hall will bring events to the fairgrounds year-around, ensuring the future economic vitality of the State Fair.
This major, three-phase renovation will certainly put a smile – and a little whip cream – on the face of Wisconsin's future.
And after enjoying the rides and shows at the State Fair, families will be able to head out to the new Centennial Park, which will be announced this spring. What a great way to celebrate the 100 th anniversary of the Wisconsin State Park System.
Some of the most fun our state has had outdoors, however, has taken place on a 100-yard by 50-yard patch of pristine green grass nestled away in Brown County.
There, in the smallest of professional sports towns, we have celebrated victory more times than any community in America. On that patch of grass, we've shed tears of joy and frustration watching the giants of the gridiron: Hutson and Hornung, Gregg and Nitschke, Reggie and Fuzzy, Lombardi, Bart and Brett. And we've even cheered homegrown talent like Sheboygan's Bill Schroeder, who's here tonight with Bob Harlan.
Muddied – and at times frozen – our heroes have given their best in the last remaining shrine in all of sports, Lambeau Field.
The Green Bay Packers have come to us with an exciting and well-thought-out plan for their future viability. They largely ask us to let them reach solutions in their community.
Therefore, the Legislature should quickly and decisively move this plan forward and let the people of Brown County decide on their piece.
Stadium issues aren't easy and they're not fun. It's like being on the one-yard-line, down by 3 points and deciding whether to go for the win or settle for the tie. In Wisconsin, we always go for the win.
Green Bay is the best-known small town in America. It is known as Titletown. Let's keep it that way by helping the Packers stay winners.
I can't imagine the Face of the Future in Wisconsin without a strong Packers team.
The Face of the Future of Government must change dramatically for the next century. We must renew and restructure the partnerships between our people and their institutions at all levels of government.
The public is rightfully demanding that we do more with less. But meeting this demand is causing greater strain in the relationship between state, local and federal governments because fewer taxpayers dollars are available.
