Technology Alliance Welcoming Remarks

May 1, 2009

Good afternoon, and thank you Susannah (Malarkey, exec. dir.) for the kind introduction.

As governor, I�m honored to welcome you and open this annual conference.

But on a personal note�

It�s a real tonic right now for me to spend a little time with the people � the innovators � who represent our economic future.

If you�ve been following the action down in Olympia, you know it�s been one tough year.

The Legislature and I have had to make truly difficult decisions � all thanks to the fallout from a global financial meltdown that spread to our state.

By and large, I believe we made the tough decisions. And unfortunately there will be plenty of sacrifice in the days and months ahead.

But it is easy to get caught up in this economic crisis.

It is easy to forget that in many ways, the innovative, forward-looking culture of this audience � and this state � have some things to be positive about.

For one thing � science is making a real comeback after way too many years battling the headwinds of ideology and wedge politics.

And this matters! We can�t move forward to make difficult transitions � for example into a green economy � if science doesn�t get its due at the table.

At the same time, you and I know that innovation is the lifeblood of a 21st Century economy,

And exciting things are happening!

President Obama has made very clear that science once again has a prominent place at the table � be it in the area of National Science Foundation funding, climate change and a green economy, or embryonic stem-cell research.

And our state is aggressively pursuing a generous portion of the billions of dollars still to come in the President�s Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act...

�To finance technology investments in alternative energy such as smart grid, broadband, and health-information systems.

We are working very hard right now to take advantage of this opportunity � and I�m optimistic that we will attract even more dollars to our state.

Here on the home front, we now have a new Department of Commerce � led by Rogers Weed, an innovator whose fundamental mission is to keep and recruit companies and jobs for the New Economy.

And we will do it from the launching pad of our Next Washington business plan and the work of the Washington Economic Development Commission.

And I�m very pleased to tell you this afternoon that I believe that despite the state budget cuts, we have managed to maintain our commitment to the cornerstone of an innovative economy � an education system that prepares our kids for the 21st Century.

Both our K-12 and higher education systems will feel pain in the coming months, but I believe with-out damaging our commitment to a world-class education system.

First of all, this was not the time to falter with our highly-ranked system of higher education�

�Nor on this state�s long compact with students, with their families, and with our businesses and culture of innovation that has made our state great.

Just last month, Standard & Poor�s reconfirmed its excellent rating of Washington bonds. Our credit is solid, and one of the yardsticks S&P cited was our well-educated workforce.

We simply could not afford � especially now � to deny thousands of students access to higher education�to lay off thousands of faculty and staff�and the likely wholesale elimination of programs that are vital for our state�s future.

So I asked the Legislature to give college and university governing boards the authority � if they choose � to approve up to 14 percent tuition increases for four-year universities and a up to 7 percent increases for community and technical colleges.

And the Legislature said yes.

The recession will end, but in the meantime we cannot damage our universities and colleges. It takes years to assemble talented professors, build programs, and offer a world-class education.

Higher education is not something where we can just turn the tap off today and back on in a few years without doing structural damage � lasting damage.

Yes � I�m asking students and families to sacrifice. But I�m doing so with the knowledge that President Obama and the Congress have significantly increased financial aid�including through Pell grants and tax credits�which will ease the impact of higher tuition.

I�m also pleased to tell you that we have taken a significant step to lay the groundwork for a K-12 education system that will better prepare our kids for 21st Century jobs.

The last time we created a new, relevant framework for K-12 was 32 years ago, and it goes without saying that a lot has changed since then.

Court decisions have played a role, but so has research about education practices and education funding. This legislation recognizes there is ample evidence that we need to refine the program of basic education.

And it reaffirms the work of Washington Learns and other recent educational task forces � all of which say we must:

Make bold reforms to the entire educational system in order to educate all students to a higher level;

Focus on the individualized instructional needs of students;

Work to close the achievement gap and reduce dropout rates;

And better prepare students for a constantly evolving workforce and global economy.

So now what will we buy � and how will we pay for it?

This legislation first requires that we create a transparent funding system so not only policymakers and educators understand what we�re buying and if we�re getting results � but taxpayers too.

And for that, we will create an improved data system that allows us to make rational, data-driven decisions to know which educational programs we need and which actually work.

Only with both of these systems in place can we make informed decisions on how to best implement a dynamic and evolving system of basic education.

For practical and educational reasons, major changes to basic education and the funding formulas to support it can�t happen immediately. K-12 now consumes nearly 45 percent of our budget � and you don�t turn this ship around overnight.

But we�re on course, and by 2018 we will have evolved to where we need to be for our kids and our economy.

At the same time, we have largely maintained an important element of the new education foundation � Early Learning. Giving our kids an early start on learning is the best return-on-investment we can make. And we will continue this commitment in the years to come.

I am told that you will hear later today that a study conducted by the Technology Alliance finds Washington is ranked 4th in the nation in the share of the state�s workforce engaged in science and engineering occupations.

To say the technology sector is the sparkplug for economic vitality is an understatement.

Technology jobs are desirable, high-wage jobs, and all sectors increasingly rely on an adaptable, tech-savvy workforce.

Because innovation and the technology that comes out of it made our state what it is today � from Boeing to Microsoft and everything in between�

�Geospiza (jee-o-SPEE-zah.) and its information technology applications in the field of molecular biology�

�Modumetal and its revolutionary nano-laminated alloy that will replace conventional metals and composites in many applications�

�Insitu and its unmanned aircraft technology�

�And Verdiem (rhymes with per diem) and its software solutions to reduce energy consumption on PC networks.

Ladies and gentlemen. Cutting-edge technology is our past. It�s our present. And it must be our bright future too.

Thank You