GRAND RAPIDS— Gov. Jennifer Granholm shared her vision for bringing Michigan out of its “one state recession”

The four-part plan included concentration on jobs, healthcare, safety for every family and education.

For the Michigan Press Association convention on Feb. 1, Granholm chose specifically to focus on two of the four points: jobs and education.

“What I want to talk about here today is non-partisan,” she said. “This is pro-Michigan.”

The first part of the plan Granholm revealed was her strategy for creating new jobs. She shared that her goal is to refinance our state’s debt so that the money can be used for “economic stimulus.”

One way she plans to do this is through marketing Michigan to make it more attractive to businesses and tourists.

She said she will motivate businesses to come to Michigan by offering “tax cuts for the 50 fastest-growing types of businesses in the U.S.” and by providing “businesses [with] the incentive that for every job they create in Michigan, they will get a triple tax cut.”

State Rep. Dave Agema, R-Grandville, was not convinced after hearing Granholm’s speech.

“Advertising alone will not solve problems,” he said. “Businesses will locate wherever it’s cheapest.”

“She talked about refinancing the state debt,” he said. “She is talking about turning around and spending that money. She is just increasing expenditures.”

“What needs to be done is to look at every budget and figure out where we can cut back. In short, it’s very easy to spend, but we have to be efficient,” he said.

“Every day you hear about global warming,” Granholm said. “We have two things that make us prime to capitalize on the need to create alternative energy. We are the second best state in the U.S. with available ways to harness wind power and manufacture [and transport] turbines.”

“We have so many tool-and-die companies that could easily be converted into alternative energy plants,” she said.

Besides her plan for creating jobs, Granholm keyed in on the importance of educating Michigan’s citizens. “We want to create a new set of 3 R’s,” she said. “Rigor, relevance, and relationships.”

She shared the story of a Chicago school that helps students by creating relationships between the staff and students, showing the students that someone cares.

Another example is the Henry Ford Hospital, which has created a program for high school students to learn at the school and earn a degree in five years: four years in high school and one year in college.

This cooperative between schools and hospitals is an example of what Granholm calls a “middle school,” bridging the gap between high school and college and providing students with training that will be relevant to their chosen careers.

Granholm’s goal is to create 100 of these “middle schools” across the state, but would like to see more bi-partisan agreement.

Before the governor’s speech, State Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids, shared his enthusiasm about the initiation of the plan to create these middle schools.

Sak, house speaker pro tem, also said a bill was passed in Dec. 2006 to provide eligible high school seniors, beginning with the class of 2007, with a $4,000 scholarship if they attend a university, community college, or trade school for at least two years.

Combined with the creation of middle schools, he indicated that this will benefit Michigan’s education system.

However confident Sak is about changes to the education system, Granholm just hopes that all of her four-part plan will bridge party lines.

As she said in her Jan. 29 State of the State address, “I’m ready, and I believe in my heart that you’re ready too.”