Kernan addresses education, deficit

Governor Joe Kernan took to the podium for his first State of the State address Tuesday night and addressed a crowd of decidedly optimistic legislators. The night marked the four-month anniversary of the death of former Governor Frank O'Bannon. \nThe first minutes of the speech seemed more like a football game than a formal address to state legislators, as the former lieutenant governor was greeted by cheering, clapping and the chanting of his first name. Kernan took the informal revelry in stride and opened his speech with an ode to Indiana sports. \n"How about those Colts?" Kernan asked the crowd.\nOnce the cheering had died down, the governor did not take long to address his most somber task of the evening: paying tribute to O'Bannon.\n"Four months ago today, we lost our governor. We lost our friend," Kernan said. "We leave a chair empty in the gallery this evening for Frank O'Bannon, but make no mistake. No matter how great the loss we feel, Governor O'Bannon's life -- so full of optimism, vision and his genuine love of Indiana -- will be with us always."\nSomber recollection of past tragedy, however, did not seem to dull the spirits of Kernan or his colleagues as he immediately looked to the future of Indiana.\nKernan announced his commitment to the increased development of the Hoosier workforce. \n"My top priority is to create jobs," he said. "We will aggressively promote Indiana businesses and workers to beat back the effects of this national recession."\nScattered voices responded with "Here, here!" as Kernan announced the start of his "Indiana@Work" initiative, a new program designed to increase Indiana's employment rate without an increase in taxes.\n"'Indiana@Work' will use existing funds to train more workers, better assess their skills and match them with available jobs," Kernan said.\n"Indiana@Work," designed to work with the Energize Indiana initiative started by O'Bannon, will help to "transform ideas and technologies into new products, new services and new jobs," Kernan said.\nKernan's speech also focused on education, specifically the Early Learning Trust. Last week, Kernan announced the creation of the program, which will strive to make full-day kindergarten accessible to every child in Indiana by 2007.\n"Early education is a sound and necessary investment in our future. For every dollar we invest in high-quality, comprehensive early learning initiatives, we will save $7 in welfare, special education and criminal justice costs."\nA member of the state legislature responded to Kernan's statement with a bold, "Yes, sir!" as a rousing round of applause emanated from the audience.\nKernan emphasized that this program will not mean additional funding from taxpayers. \n"I have identified the resources to fund this investment in our future -- without raising taxes," he said. "I will work with you to get this job done for our children."\nThe governor also touched briefly on the introduction of the Line Item Veto to Indiana legislature, a move which he claims will "protect taxpayers from unnecessary and unaffordable spending."\nAlso included in his speech were the creation of a task force designed to protect abused and neglected children and a promise to eliminate the state's deficit within the next two years.\nAmong the many announcements made in his speech, Kernan spoke of the inception of the Peak Performance Project, to be led by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Davis. The project will include a "top to bottom" review of state government, which Kernan hopes will lead to more effective methods of serving Hoosiers.\n"I've asked her (Davis) to do more than just look under the hood and kick the tires. If there's a way to better serve you, then maybe it's time to redesign the whole car," Kernan said.\nState Senator Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, in attendance at the speech, said the most important part of Kernan's speech was not the words themselves, but the general tone. \n"(The speech) was a message of optimism," she said. "We've had a tough, tragic year and this was just the message Indiana needed to hear."\nCongesswoman Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, said the speech is an uplifting look into what Indiana can expect in the next few years. \n"As citizens, it gives us hope that Gov. Kernan is looking to the future."\n-- Contact business editor Karen Green at kamgreen@indiana.edu.