pa State Senator Lowe Finney

When I was a young man, my dad was an avid runner, and he took me to various races around West Tennessee. In my very first race, I sprinted off of the starting line only to find myself winded at about the quarter-mile mark. I did not earn any ribbons that day, and dad reminded me to always pace myself - "Start out like you can hold out," he told me.

I am reminded of my dad's words about running as Tennessee begins a new budget year.

Although Tennessee certainly has felt the effects of the nationwide economic downturn over the past three years, we balanced our budget without relying on new taxes. Instead, we tightened our belts by cutting unnecessary spending and were able to maintain nearly $600 million in our "rainy day" funds.

We made education our top priority. We protected a $3.8 billion investment in our Pre-K-12 education programs and invested $120 million for community college capital projects and technical schools. We passed legislation to improve accountability in education that also helped us win $500 million in "Race to the Top" funding, which will come into our state over the next four years, and half of it will go straight to our local school districts. Gibson County is expected to receive over $2 million, Carroll County will receive over $1 million, and Madison County will receive about $4 million in direct funding. I am particularly proud of an amendment that I co-sponsored to establish the Teacher Professional Development Fund that will, for the first time in Tennessee's history, provide up to $65 million in training and development money for our teachers.

We focused on jobs by restoring $51 million through contingent federal funds for the Fast Track Job Training Assistance program and Fast Track Infrastructure Developmental program, which are the two primary mechanisms by which our state recruits new jobs and capital. We hope to secure these federal funds in the coming weeks. We continued our commitment of building and expanding the West Tennessee megasite by providing $22.3 million in state funds with an additional $9.6 million in the contingent federal funds.

We also restored $16.3 million for the Agriculture Enhancement Grants that so many farmers in rural West Tennessee depend on, and we provided $10 million to the Small Business Jobs Opportunity funds, an excellent program that helps create jobs in rural West Tennessee.

We protected children by preserving funding for the Governor's Office of Children's Care Coordination, which combats infant mortality and coordinates the delivery of health care to children. We funded the Coordinated School Health Program, a program that boasts an impressive record of helping students at an early age learn about good health. Any company looking to relocate here wants to know that the workforce is healthy enough to work. Teaching these good habits to children will pay healthy dividends to our workforce in the future.

I cosponsored legislation to provide $20 million in tax relief on certain purchases as flood victims work to recover from the recent floods. Our neighbors are still working to get back on their feet, and this is just one more way we can help.

Budgets are imperfect. They are based on projections and a conglomeration of desires from 132 legislators and the Governor. But they should reflect values important to West Tennesseans regardless of party affiliation, age, or economic status. Though we still face many challenges, we've made sound investments in basic programs for jobs and education while making cuts and preserving savings. This is not a sprint but a steady, prudent way to start the new fiscal year. Now let's run the race.

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