Agenda 01/10/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment A ~ .... Martinsville City of Martinsville Legislative Priorities & Policies for the 2006 Virginia General Assembly Legislators The City of Martinsville congratulates the members of the House of Delegates for their reelection to the House. We appreciate their past efforts on behalf of this council and its residents, and look forward to continuing work with the House members and with Senator Roscoe Reynolds over the next two years, continuing efforts to make Martinsville a better place to live, work and thrive. To that end, the City administration has prepared, and Martinsville City Council has approved, the following guidance of the city's legislative priorities and principles for the 2006 Virginia General Assembly Session. Education The most important way both to attract new industries and to prepare a workforce for employment is to make available the best pre-K-12 education, followed by post-secondary education including the ready availability of certificate, two-year and four-year degrees. The City Council of Martinsville supports state initiatives leading to full funding of the Commonwealth's primary and secondary education Standards of Quality, as well as any funding assistance and incentives necessary to maintain a teacher workforce qualified and dedicated to raising student achievement to a level of full competency on Standards of Learning. We desire to strongly support the growth of adult education programs, including graduate equivalency courses and testing, certification programs through Virginia's community colleges, and job placement guidance and assistance by those institutions providing adult education. We support the continued growth of education and research programs and facilities at Patrick Henry Community College and the Virginia Museum of Natural History. One of our most important goals is the immediate charter, funding, establishment and construction of a baccalaureate degree-granting, full-time, residential public college or university in Martinsville or Henry County, serving all of Southside Virginia with the goal of graduating its first full class no later than May 2010. We have pledged, and stand by our pledge, to pay up to $1 million (in cash or in-kind services) to establish infrastructure for a state institution approved by the end of the 2006 General Assembly Session.