Kaine links colleges, roads

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday urged business executives interested in boosting higher education to get involved in Virginia's debate about transportation funding, arguably the central issue in the race for governor.

The nominees for governor, Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell, also addressed the summit at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, and voiced support for greater investment in the commonwealth's twoand four-year public colleges and universities.

The speeches came on the heels of a report released by the Virginia Business and Higher Education Council, sponsor of the summit, that showed Virginia's higher educational system has a major economic impact on the commonwealth, returning $1.39 for every $1 invested.

Kaine, who leaves office in January, linked the future of higher education funding to how the state deals with finding the $1 billion a year necessary to maintain and improve the state's roads.

"I think it would be deeply irresponsible to the future of Virginia to decide that the general fund we need for funding our wonderful and comprehensive education system should become the source for ongoing and sizable transportation investments," Kaine said.

"As you are preparing your case for innovation and investment in the higher education system, don't stand on the sidelines and watch the available dollars go in a different direction."

Kaine and Deeds say McDonnell's transportation funding plan would drain education money from the general fund, a concern that McDonnell says is overblown.

Deeds, who spoke later, said: "Education is one area where we can't cut." In a veiled reference to McDonnell, he likened draining money from education to a farmer using all of his seed corn, leaving nothing to harvest later.

Kaine and Deeds say the Republican's plan would drain millions annually from the state's general fund revenues, 46 percent of which are spent on public education. Medicaid and public safety also account for large chunks of the state's general revenue spending.

Speaking after Deeds, McDonnell spent a good part of his address hammering away at the charge, calling it a "false accusation."

He told the group that "only a portion" of the funding of his transportation plan comes from existing general fund revenues. Other funding comes from anticipated new revenues and profits from things like offshore drilling, tolls on Interstates 85 and 95 at the North Carolina border and the sale of the state-controlled liquor monopoly.

In a meeting afterward with reporters, McDonnell said Deeds' willingness to raise taxes to fund transportation would hurt the commonwealth.

"Billions of dollars in taxes will not turn this budget around," he said. "He doesn't have a transportation plan so he's left with these bogus assertions."

McDonnell has pledged not to raise taxes for transportation. But the candidate stopped short of pledging that his plan would not take money from education.

"I'm going to look at everything," he said. "Education is a top priority, as is transportation, and those would be the last areas that I would look to take any money from."

Speaking before more than 250 business executives, educators, and state officials, Deeds said that while Virginia's per-student investment in higher education has dropped 40 percent this decade, average tuition has spiked nearly 80 percent.

Deeds reviewed his proposals to dedicate $40 million to provide targeted student-loan forgiveness and reduced tuition in exchange for graduates serving in public service professions or in areas where there are special needs for nurses and teachers.

McDonnell spoke of convening a task force to come up with a "long-term, sustainable blueprint for higher education" that leads to awarding 100,000 more degrees and meets the need for more nurses and additional specialization in science, technology, engineering and math.

McDonnell also spoke of the need for a "public-private partnership for work force development" that will train future graduates to be prepared for the jobs that are available and promised that education would be a priority for him as governor.

"It's about expanding access to our cherished American dream," McDonnell said.

Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6812 or .