Common-sense solutions are what Tennessee needs

This month, I took my second oath of office as Tennessee?s governor. I celebrated my Inauguration Day surrounded by family, friends and fellow Tennesseans. It was a proud time for me ? and now, I?m ready to roll up my sleeves and get back to work.

As I begin my second term, I want to share my thoughts with you on my hopes for Tennessee?s future ? on the goals we must set and the steps we must take to secure a successful future for our families.

My vision is based on a simple personal philosophy: our job as adults is to leave this state a little better than we found it for the next generation. We need to build a strong, bold Tennessee, and we need to equip our young people with the personal and professional skills they need to lead this state.

To do this, we must make several critical commitments. The first is a commitment to work together, putting the public good before politics.

I?m beginning my second term as governor with a promise to seek common ground over conflict, to support good ideas from whatever quarter they come and to be governor to all the people of Tennessee.

This approach is tried-and-true for me ? it?s one of the primary reasons we were able to achieve so many big wins for Tennessee over the past four years. Tennesseans expect elected officials to take an honest, open, common-sense approach to government. Over these next four years, I want to show Tennesseans they can expect even more from us.

The second commitment we must make is to keep education our No. 1 priority in Tennessee. Education is the key to a good job, a secure future and a fulfilling career. It?s the key to building the highly skilled workforce that will help Tennessee keep pace in a changing economy.

But education is also about a lot more than jobs and business; it?s also about citizenship and about the future of our nation.

In February, when I deliver my State of the State address to the General Assembly, I will outline bipartisan proposals for strengthening education at every level in Tennessee.

My proposals will include first steps to address funding needs among school systems with large at-risk and fast-growing student populations, proposals to provide the 6,700 children on our pre-K waiting list with access to a quality pre-K education and strategies for boosting Tennessee?s high school and college graduation rates.

You?ll hear more details about these and other plans in February. For now, I want to thank you for the privilege of a second term and ask for your support as we move ahead.

We have a lot of work before us ? in education, job creation, health care and environmental conservation. However, if we work together and put our children?s education at the top of our list, our success for the next four years ? and for years beyond ? is ensured.

Gov. Phil Bredesen can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].