Obama urges governors to boost education funding
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama Monday urged the nation's governors to invest more state resources in education, saying a highly skilled workforce is crucial for the U.S. to remain competitive with other countries...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama Monday urged the nation’s governors to invest more state resources in education, saying a highly skilled workforce is crucial for the U.S. to remain competitive with other countries.
Obama made his pitch at a White House meeting with governors in Washington as part of the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association. The president and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a black tie dinner with the governors Sunday night.
Obama said at Monday’s session that he sympathized with governors whose state budgets have been badly squeezed during the economic downturn. But he said that was no reason to trim resources from schools.
“The fact is that too many states are making cuts in education that I think are simply too big,” Obama said. “Nothing more clearly signals what you value as a state than the decisions you make about where to invest. Budgets are about choices.”
Obama asked governors to hire more teachers and to restore funding to public colleges and universities. He also reaffirmed his view that decisions about education should be left to states and not the federal government.
“I believe education is an issue that is best addressed at the state level,” the president said, “and governors are in the best position to have the biggest impact.”
Obama said other countries have been “doubling down” on education funding while the U.S. has cut back.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
