It's not very often that college financial aid is in the headlines. But, this year, the direction West Virginia will take in assisting young people who want to have a college education is the biggest debate in town. I'm glad you came to Charleston. I hope I can get some help from you. Because, this year, we're going to make decisions that will affect an entire generation of West Virginians.
Education is crucial to the future of our children and our state.
Despite the state's financial condition, we must make some new investments in education. We cannot have economic development, we cannot fulfill our other responsibilities, without first making West Virginia truly THE education state. This is a multinational corporation that is seeking information technology talent and was drawn here to recruit some of the computer professionals who may be displaced in the Union Carbide-Dow merger. I want to attract more high tech employers. We have the land, the buildings, the infrastructure they need.