Wright-Jones backing Gov. Nixon's proposals

Sen. Robin Wright-Jones, D-St. Louis, says she is ready to get to work on the proposals outlined by Gov. Jay Nixon in his State of the State message Wednesday night:

The 2010 legislative session continues to progress as my colleagues and I recently took time to hear Gov. Jay Nixon's recommendations for the General Assembly during the annual State of the State address.

I support many of the governor's key items outlined in his speech, including freezing tuition for our state's college students, providing record funding for K-12 education, and focusing on creating jobs by training citizens to compete in emerging workforces.

Providing an affordable and quality education for our state's citizens is a key factor in developing and sustaining a thriving economy in Missouri. I applaud the governor for calling on public two- and four-year colleges and universities to freeze tuition, allowing our state's students to continue their valuable education.

The governor also announced increased funding for K-12 education in our state. Governor Nixon's proposal calls for an increase of $18 million for K-12 education — this means a record amount of funding going toward education compared to other states that are dramatically cutting their education budgets. Missouri knows that it is important to fund the citizens that will one day become our state's primary workforce.

Finally, my colleagues and I will work this session on instituting a plan to expand existing businesses in our state, bring new high-tech companies to Missouri, and train our state's workers to compete for high-demand jobs. I am excited to begin working on legislation that will provide a backbone for the governor's "Training for Tomorrow" initiative, which will help community colleges in Missouri increase job training programs in high-demand fields, such as health care.

I look forward to working on the recommendations laid out by the governor. My colleagues and I know how important it is to focus on job creation, funding our children's education, and fiscal restraints during these tough economic times. Our work this session will reflect our state's need for these issues to be addressed.