Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s State of the State Address set for Wednesday night will focus on proposed changes in the state’s public education system.
“The governor is going to spend most of his 45-minutes talking about education and education reform,” Tomblin administration Communications Director Amy Shuler Goodwin told MetroNews.
(A live video stream will be available here Wednesday night)
The education reform issue could very well dominate the 60-day regular session that gets started Wednesday at noon with brief floor sessions in both the state Senate and House of Delegates.
Gov. Tomblin is expected to offer specific proposals to improve student achievement, some of those highlighted in an independent audit of the education system that was completed more than a year ago.
“He just wants to make sure this next generation of West Virginians will have the skill and the knowledge to make a difference,” Shuler Goodwin said.
Republicans in the House of Delegates are also anxious for the session to begin. The GOP were buoyed by a very strong Nov. General Election giving the party 46 delegates in the 100-member House, the most since the 1930s.
The Republican delegates held a news conference at the state capitol Tuesday afternoon highlighting its legislative agenda that includes proposals for tax cuts, economic development and judicial reform among other plans.
Gov. Tomblin spent part of Tuesday at the governor’s mansion practicing his speech. Shuler Goodwin says Tomblin is excited about getting the session underway.
“This is a governor who spent most of his career upstairs in the Senate doing what he loves to do best. And that is working with our Senate members and working with our House and that is to come up with great solutions that really make a difference,” she said.