Rhode Island '06 State of the State

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2006 State of the State Address

Thank you Speaker Murphy.

President Montalbano;

My fellow general officers;

Members of the judiciary;

My cabinet directors;

Distinguished guests;

Members of the diplomatic corps;

And fellow Rhode Islanders;

A special thank you to members of my family here tonight, my daughters Sarah and Jill; annd, most especially, to my wife of 40 years, who cares as deeply as I do about our State - First Lady, Sue Carcieri.

In spite of her own health issues this past year, she continues to lead our state

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ProJo article on the Democratic response.

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Date: January 26th, 2006

For Immediate Release

Contact: Karen Southern, Press Secretary

(401) 421-2489 x 752

PRESS RELEASE

Mayor David N. Cicilline's Response to Governor Carcieri's Proposal for a Metropolitan School District

Making a metropolitan school district work would require the Governor's focused commitment and sincere belief in the potential of urban education. Mayors cannot take on faith the Governor's commitment to their children when, year after year, he has pushed the burden of education costs to local property tax payers in order to balance his own budget. We must be assured that this is a serious policy initiative and not just election year politics. Only action, not words, can offer that assurance. The following would open dialogue for a serious discussion:

• A budget that stops shifting a greater share of school costs to local property tax payers. This is the factor that earned Rhode Island the fifth lowest grade in the country for equity in education funding according to the recent Education Week study.

• A commitment to finding out the true cost of an adequate education that meets state and federal mandates, and which accounts for the special needs of urban districts, such as ESL, poverty, and special education. This can be done by committing attention, staff time, and resources to the efforts of the General Assembly's Joint Legislative Committee to Establish a Permanent Education Foundation Aid Formula.

ProvidenceRI.com

[runawayjim]

it's funny how a lot of what he said is very similar to what the president said last night... that's the only political comment i will make here...