Governor Hoeven's Six Pillars

Education - Landmark Reform for K-12 and Higher Education

Landmark reform for K-12 schools, and for the first time ever a needs-based budget for Higher Education

Education is the bedrock on which we build the future. Excellence in education will enable us to achieve our greatest potential, as individuals and as a state. Schools produce the human wealth on which our progress depends.

Kindergarten-12 - A $90 million commitment in additional funding for equity and adequacy

The Commission on Education Improvement represents the greatest reform in K-12 education in more than a generation. The group has fundamentally reformed the way public education is funded in North Dakota by revising the funding formula to help achieve equity, raise teacher compensation and ease the pressure on property taxes. The commission is led by Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple, and composed of leaders in the Legislature and the field of education.

Governor Hoeven dedicated funding and resources to the effort, committing more than $90 million in the legislative session. Adopting the work of the commission established a process that will not only amicably resolve a lawsuit and reform funding equity and adequacy, but will also help to reduce the local share of the current cost of education.

That process will continue, focusing more closely on adequacy, throughout the new biennium in preparation for the 2009 legislative session.

"The winners here are our children. The school funding reform bill provides significantly more money for education through a new, equitable formula, and it also helps to reduce the burden of taxes on our local communities. Moreover, we've established a process to address school funding adequacy, which the commission will now begin to work on in preparation for the next legislative session."
Governor John Hoeven

Higher Education - An unprecedented $89 million in additional funding

In April 2007, Gov. Hoeven was joined by legislators, and campus and university system officials at Minot State University to sign the Higher Education budget bill. The legislation increases funding for the system by an unprecedented $89 million. The bill raises the higher education budget to $633 million, with a 23 percent increase in state funding, and limits tuition increases for the next two years.

In today's world, the link between education and commerce is crucial. Six years ago, Gov. Hoeven helped bring about a decisive change in the way higher education is funded by giving the universities flexibility with accountability to help contribute to the economic growth of North Dakota. Flexible spending means North Dakota universities can use tuition dollars and other revenue to produce excellence in education and help with job creation.

The strategy has worked, and now the Governor's funding initiative for higher education has gone even further, helping the universities continue their good work, and helping keep a higher education affordable for students. North Dakota needs a university system that can hold the line on tuition, so that our young people can afford to get the quality education they will need in the 21st Century.

To help higher education achieve these goals, the Governor worked to secure an unprecedented $89 million in ongoing and onetime funding for our campuses. Final legislation included new funding for the university system's operating budget, and new one-time funding to address deferred maintenance, ConnectND, and other needs. In addition, the package devotes millions in direct funding for construction and renovation projects on the campuses - all without bonding or borrowing as in the past.

The Higher Education funding package also provides additional tuition assistance for students, putting the University System in a better position to hold the line on tuition increases in the next biennium. To help parents and students save for college education, recently passed legislation includes:

A state income tax deduction of up to $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for couples on all contributions to North Dakota's CollegeSave Plan through the Bank of North Dakota.
A state matching contribution of up to $250 for all new CollegeSave accounts for individuals with less than $20,000 of income or couples with less than $40,000 of income.

Our campuses have become engines of economic growth, and in a high-tech global economy, education and economic development go hand in hand.

"For the first time ever, we have funded the needs-based budget of Higher Education at the level requested by the board. This legislation, which includes a range of new grant, assistance and savings programs for students and families, will help hold the line on tuition increases and keep the cost of a college education in North Dakota affordable."
Governor John Hoeven

Career and Technical Education - A $21.7 million investment in tomorrow's workforce

Funding for Career and Technical Education is truly an investment in our people and our future. A growing and diversified economy means we need a growing and diversified workforce, with the skills and knowledge to help us compete in the global marketplace.

Gov. Hoeven was joined by legislators, educators and community officials in May 2007 to sign a $21.7 million Career and Technical Education bill that will help provide North Dakotans with the skills they need to fill the new jobs our growing economy is creating.

Overall the general fund for the Department of Career & Technical Education was increased by $4.9 million, 29 percent over the previous biennium. This is the largest increase since the mid-1970s, when the current Career and Technical Centers were created.

The $4.9 million is part of a total $8 million increase in workforce training funds coordinated between K-12 education, the University System, the Commerce Department, Job Service North Dakota and the Department of Career and Technical Education.

In 2006, North Dakota's aggressive economic development efforts produced 7,850 net new jobs, including occupations in manufacturing, technology, energy and other skilled areas. The recent budget funds programs that will assist high schools and colleges train the workers of the future. Highlights include:

Workforce Training Funding: An additional $1.7 million - $3 million in total state funding - to provide workforce training grants to postsecondary schools for programs that meet critical workforce needs.
Secondary School Grant Funding: An additional $2.8 million for grants to high schools, including $1.2 million for at least two new regional Career & Technical Centers> in parts of the state not currently served; $800,000 in grants to school districts for career and technical education programs, like welding, automotive technology, marketing education, business and office, agriculture, and other programs; $800,000 for incentives, including the North Dakota Elementary Student Entrepreneurship Program.
North Dakota Career Resource Network: An additional $400,000 to provide support for multi-agency career planning and academic guidance programs and improved access to career planning resources for students.

"As we continue to transform our economy, we need to provide our young people with the resources necessary to receive more career and technical education. That will provide them with the skills and knowledge they will need to fill the jobs of the future in our growing and diversified economy."
Governor John Hoeven