 Good morning. Thank you all for being here today. Thank you to the legislators who are here as well. Before I get to the topic of the day, I want to take a moment to address statements from the President directed at four American Congresswomen of color. Like many across the country, I find these statements offensive, racist, and certainly not what we expect from the leader of the greatest country in the world. Words matter, and we've seen this same rhetoric used throughout history to discriminate, to grade, and divide. Now, more than ever, is the time for all of us to realize our kids are watching what we do and listening to what we say. They are learning from us, and they want to be just like us. What they need to know is that racism and hate speech are unacceptable, which is why it's important to call out these statements for what they are. My hope is this, that this can be a teaching moment to show people that words matter, and if you've had certain life experiences, words may mean something different to each of you than they do to someone else. We all need to learn from this and work to do better, healing divisions and valuing someone else's experience. That's how we should approach this, and I hope those in Washington can use this to educate people on how to do better, not making about politics or partisanship. It's time for the White House, the President, and Congress to stop the back and forth, stop the fighting, and find a way to work together to solve the problems everyday Americans face. Now, I recognize this is a bit of an awkward transition, but we're here today to discuss a slate of new initiatives on higher education. As I've said many times, we have a good education system in Vermont that I believe we can make the very best by creating a cradle-to-career system that gives all of our honors the skills they need to find a good job. If we can, it will be the very best economic development tool we could ask for. To get there, we must continue to make investments in early care and learning, as well as higher in continuing education. This is why I propose increased investment in both areas, and I'm thankful for the legislature's partnership on many of these initiatives. On the higher education side, this includes an increase of two and a half million to the Vermont State Colleges, an increase of 500,000 to BSAC's non-degree grant program, an initiative to identify how we can offer associate degree programs through CTE or tech centers, as well as workforce training programs to help more of Vermonters occur in a credential for an apprenticeship. And we've also launched a new marketing partnership to help attract and keep students right here in Vermont through a scholarship program. Matthew Durr from the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges will share more on this in a moment, but I'm pleased to have recipients, Kelsey True and Brandon Ryan here with us today. As we work to grow our workforce and help Vermonters earn their careers, our higher education system, which includes two and four-year programs, as well as trade training, plays a critical role. We're also relying on state colleges and universities to help reverse our demographic trends. I often talk about demographics, and every day we see a new sign of the impact it has on us. Just last week, a major bond rating agency downgraded our state, in part, because of our shifting demographics. I have to note, however, we still enjoy the second highest rating, and that's in large part because of the work we're doing to address these challenges, and we must ensure it doesn't slip further. I've said for a long time that we can use our colleges and universities to help keep their graduates here. At the same time, we must acknowledge our population trends are also having an impact on these very same institutions. Just like our K-12 schools, our state college system is seeing fewer students, and when you think about it, it makes sense. If we have fewer students graduating from our high schools, that's fewer that will enter our state colleges, especially considering 83% of students enrolled at our state colleges grew up in Vermont. We've seen the strain that's putting on the system, particularly on those smaller institutions that've had to close. But this is a challenge we're all aware of, and Jeb and his team at the Vermont State Colleges are working to tackle this head-on. It will take hard work and discipline, but coupled with our work to reverse our demographic trends, I'm confident that we'll come through with a stronger system that's more efficient and continues to provide a better and a great education. While it's clear we have more work to do, we increase investments for higher education, as well as adult education and career training, give our higher ed institutions new tools to grow our future workforce. Our additional investment in our state colleges will help more Vermonters seeking both non-degree and degree programs. VSAC's advanced grant program will help nearly 300 Vermonters access higher education programs that don't necessarily result in a two- or four-year degree. And our emphasis on credentialing and apprenticeships programs means that everyone who wants to work has a meaningful path to employment, whether it's a CDL or a PhD. Again, we have more work to do to strengthen our higher education system while ensuring we maximize the value of taxpayer dollars and leverage the system to address our broader demographic challenges. But we've taken some important steps this year, thanks in large part to the group that we have here today as well as the legislators across the state. So I'd now like to ask Vermont State College's Chancellor, Jeff Spalding, to share more about how students will benefit from this year's increased investment. Jeff. Thank you very much, Governor. Thank you. And if I could, just for a moment speak as a citizen in the state, I love so much. I so much respect your leadership, Governor. Your humility, your respect, your civility as a role model for our young students and our colleges and our schools and our families is really, really something special. So I want to thank you as a citizen for your strong and fine leadership in the state of Vermont. And back to the Chancellor's hat. You know, the hair's kind of gray. I've worked with a lot of different folks around here. And I've never actually had a chance to work with the governor who has a more innate understanding of the importance of public higher education than the governor. And it's important to recognize that, you know, since the Great Recession, 95% of the jobs that have been created required some level of post-secondary education. And I use that term advisedly, some level of post-secondary education. It's not all a four-year college degree. It's not even called a bachelor's and master's degree. But some kind of post-secondary education beyond high school is absolutely critical to providing the opportunity for Vermonters to improve their lives and for the state of Vermont to deal with the demographics out there. Because keep in mind, currently, 40% of the students that are graduating from high school are not going on to any post-secondary education in Vermont. And the Vermont State Colleges is using a portion of the funds that we got this year, the $250,000 to help Vermont Technical College and our Career and Technical Centers develop associate degree programs delivered at technical centers around the state. And that's important. It's very consistent with one of the macro trends that's out there, and that is that it's more about bringing the education to the people than it is people to the institution. And that's evidenced by, just think about community college for a second, around 20 years ago, a very, very small percentage of their courses were delivered online. When I started Chancellor four and a half years ago, around 30% of their courses were delivered online today, it's closer to 40%. That's just one way of bringing education to the people. For Castleton to pick up the nursing program that used to be at Southern Vermont College in Bennington is a way for Castleton to bring education to another part of the state. For Vermont Technical College, which, you know, 20 years ago, if you wanted to be a nurse in Vermont Technical College, you had to go to Randolph Center. Now you can become a nurse in any, a number of locations around the state. So the Vermont State Colleges is strong, but we are doing everything we can to innovate and figure out how we can continue to provide the high quality education that we have to the traditional market, which is getting smaller, and also expand our offerings for the rest of Vermonters that haven't gone to college before to figure out what kind of programs are going to be helpful for them to get them good jobs. And just to mention a couple of them, because I know I shouldn't go on, but between Community College of Vermont and Vermont Technical College, they're starting six new apprenticeship programs this year. People can work and get their college education at the same time. Vermont Technical College is starting a new partnership with Global Foundries, where they go directly from high school and get paid while they're working, and Global Foundries is paying for their college education while they're working. So there are all these ways to do things differently than we've done in the past while we are maintaining the quality. And affordability is a major issue. And the two and a half million dollars that the governor led us and helped us get it through the legislature is going to save Vermonters at least a couple hundred bucks. I can't remember by institution. It depends on the institution dollars this year. So affordability, that's a direct investment, not so much in the institutions, but in Vermonters and helping them go on to post-secondary education. In this case, most likely a degree program. And I can say that, you know, I talked to the presidents, and they actually do keep track of why students don't come back after the fall semester. And it's a whole lot of reasons. And sometimes it's family reasons or it's just one thing or another. But many times it's because they just can't afford to come back or to pay off the small amount of money. So to actually be able to lower the tuition increase that had already been approved by the board of trustees from 3% to 1% was a big deal. And we thank you for that governor. We will make sure that that money goes to needy Vermonters. And I can't think of any other institution in Vermont, any institution in Vermont that's done more to help Vermonters go on to college than the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. For decades and decades, they have provided the financial background, but also tremendous outreach and guidance counseling for students to go on to college. And they over the years have had to figure out, well, it's not all traditional. There are non-degree grant programs and other kinds of assistance that are necessary. And so I think it's time for me to turn over the podium to Tom Little, representing the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, to talk about the $500,000 that was in the budget. Thank you. Good morning again. And I, as the chancellor said, I would echo his response to the governor's remarks, having lived through the tumult and shouting of the 2000 legislative session where we enacted the civil unions law and survived that. I think we hope that others can learn from our experience there and track back to civility and actually getting things done. Thank you, Governor, for your leadership in post-secondary education and trading and in workforce development. The VSAC Non-Degree Grant Program, which the General Assembly has now renamed the Advancement Grant Program, provides adult Vermonters the opportunity to pursue training and credential programs that build job skills needed for a variety of industries and occupations. Nearly every conversation about the economic future of our state begins and ends with the need for more people in the workforce. This will make a difference in helping more people pursue education and training opportunities outside the traditional college track and earn credentials too. This $500,000 one-time appropriation means an additional 300 Vermonters who'll be able to upskill their careers and it represents a 25% increase to the program. Too often the needs of adult learners who need education and training to better support themselves and their families get overlooked. The Advancement Grant is a proven way for low-income adults to obtain employment and higher wages. You may not know it, but Vermon's Non-Degree Program was the first in the country when it started in the midst of a recession in 1982. Over the last 37 years, more than 38,600 non-degree grants have been awarded and the demand has nearly doubled over the last decade. In fact, Vermonters helped over 14,600 Vermonters with $25 million in non-degree and advancement grants in the last 10 years. And we know that it works. Nearly 70% of the adults who were unemployed prior to using their non-degree grant were employed or in school after using their grant and completing their studies. These Vermonters are getting training in computer programming applications, website design, business leadership, healthcare professions like nursing, dental assistance, billing and coding, trade careers in the wellness field and early childhood development and education to mention a few. These are Vermonters like Megan Luia, a single mom of two who works part-time and goes to school full-time. She's just graduated with honors from Vermont Technical College with her practical nurse certificate. Next up, she takes her license exam and wants to pursue a bachelor's degree and become a registered nurse and maybe even go on to become a nurse practitioner. We'd also like to thank you, Governor, and the legislature for this one-time funding to the advancement grant program. Adult learners often need different career and education options. Their financial and family needs are unique. It's not one size fits all and this program makes it possible to take the next steps in their career. VSAC is hopeful that this funding will become permanent. We're also proud to have joined with the administration in this inaugural year of the Choose Vermont Scholarship program by funding a $5,000 scholarship. We have great colleges here and every year some 20,000 students from other states come here to study. The Association of Vermont Independent Colleges provided funding for the second $5,000 scholarship and Sterling College President Matthew Durr is here today representing AVIC. The Association seeks to strengthen the quality of higher ed in Vermont and to increase accessibility to a broad range of students and foster cooperative efforts among its member institutions in all segments of higher education. They're dedicated to expanding the capacity of Vermont's independent educational network and attracting students who will contribute to the state's future workforce as well as the economic, civic, and cultural life and vitality of Vermont. President Durr. Good morning. There are 44,000 college students in Vermont and it's a pleasure to have the opportunity to collaborate and work with the governor who understands that that number should fill up and that we're delighted with the economic impact that higher education has as a whole here in the state of Vermont. With 11,000 Vermonters working in higher education and that's a number we'd also like to see go up. What I find really remarkable about higher education in Vermont is the degree of collaboration across the institutions, private and public, land grant universities, law schools, liberal arts colleges, colleges focused on ecology, technical colleges for a small state to have the array of colleges that Vermont has is really remarkable and that is sustainable in part because of the ways in which we work together. We make Vermont a vibrant state. We contribute to the cultural offerings of the state, the sustainable growth of our economy, and a compelling ecologically based working landscape. We're delighted to be able to partner as the Vermont independent colleges with our colleagues at the state colleges at the University of Vermont and with the governor's office to have this inaugural celebration of the Choose Vermont Scholarship. Our work with VSAC across those institutions is critical to the way in which we draw students to Vermont. Of those 44,000 students, more than half of them come from outside of the state to be able to partner on this kind of project and bring attention to the opportunity to study at one of the remarkable colleges in Vermont is something that we appreciate and that we want to celebrate with you. But of course, we are 11,000 Vermonters working on behalf of students and the well-being of students. And I'm delighted that we have two students who will be here at Vermont colleges this next year. I'm delighted to introduce Kelsey True from Old Sabre, Vermont, who will be studying... I'm sorry, Old Sabre, Connecticut. Wow, and I used to live near by there. Welcome to Vermont. Thank you. Who will be studying nursing at the University of Vermont and Brandon Ryan, who is from Randolph, who will be studying political science at Castleton University. Delighted to be able to acknowledge them and look forward to their studies here in Vermont. And as Vermont needs more nurses, and I would dare say it needs more people understanding politics with a benefit from Brandon's work here too. And just to conclude, the voice of the governor in making Vermont a welcoming place to come to college is incredibly important. And so his comments at the top of this press conference are important to the ability of the state to attract students here. So thank you for that work and we are proud and delighted to have you at Vermont colleges. Thank you. Would you like to say anything? Oh. First off, are there any questions from the audience? That kind of prompted me, I guess. I guess this is how my high school teachers felt a lot of the time. Well, first off, I think I'd just echo everyone with echo the governor at the game of this conference and how he is trying to make Vermont a more welcoming place and such like many high schools around the area are also trying to make Vermont a more welcoming place for their students. So then hopefully they will be able to be encouraged to stay in Vermont. So thank you, Governor Den. I chose Castleman University as it was the most affordable for me. I applied to four colleges within the United States such as Franklin Pierce University and British New Hampshire, UMass Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts and the University of Vermont and finally, Castleton. I'm going to be straight up honest with everyone and say that Castleton was not my first choice. I feel like the youth that are growing up in Vermont face a lot of challenges nowadays and also Vermont being as small and secluded as it is within the other big states that a lot of youth in Vermont want to try and get out and see the world. But also what I find with that is that a lot of time they come back to where their home is. With that being said, I chose the same Vermont because of the affordability and because of my comfortability around Vermont and its places. I just had registration at Castleton and I talked to a lot about state people and they're saying that Castleton was most affordable for them with being in out of state costs and that they like the vibes that they got from also the Castleton University campus and the other campuses around Vermont. So I feel that our education system is doing very well in preparing college students for the next year of college. Custody, do you want to hear that? I'd just like to thank everyone who made the scholarship possible. I really appreciate it a lot and then go on to what he said. I chose Vermont because of the high quality of education, the beauty of our natural surroundings and then the fact that there's a hospital right on campus was really important to me. Thank you. Any questions for either one of them? And now we'll open up the questions about the subject first. How sustainable are the increases that you saw this year? Was this sort of a one-off or do you really think it's realistic it's going to continue? Well, again, we want to do all we can to invest in the state college system, in particular higher education. And I think that we've proven that it does go towards a great need that we have in the state. We're building our budget now. We don't want to get ahead of the process but certainly want to do whatever we can and we'll continue to look at that. But as Jeb knows in all of his previous roles, there's a tremendous amount of need in Vermont in a number of different areas. So balancing those needs is something that takes a lot of work and a lot of work with the legislature as well. So, but we think it's a good investment. It's something that I feel very strongly about and this cradle to career type of education system I think is something that we have to address in the future. I think this is part of the answer. Giving them a good foundation is important in early care and learning, but also a career path and staying with them because we certainly have the need in the state for more in the workforce. So we'll continue to do all we can. Do you think of, I think New York state has free college tuition or some program along those lines. Do you ever think that that's in Vermont's future? Well, again, we'll do all we can. I do think personally, I do believe there has to be an investment on both sides. I think has to mean something and it makes it more meaningful when you have to invest yourselves in whatever you're trying to follow. So I think it's meaningful when you have some skin in the game, so to speak. Questions for others on the higher education front? Well, that pretty much wraps up. Well, just one question. Do you anticipate, for the last question, being able to do at least as much next year for higher education? Well, again, I don't want to get ahead of the process, but we certainly intend to do whatever we can to fulfill our commitment to our state colleges and our schools here in the state and attracting more people. The state is part of the answer. And I think that our higher institutions, higher ed institutions are an integral part of that and part of the solution. So at this point in time, I'm sure there's other questions. If you feel free to put me and or away from the limelight, you're welcome to stay as well, whatever you're coming. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Have you shared your thoughts that you started with the other Republican governors or any other Republican officials? Yeah, you're the first to hear this. Obviously, it's something that thought a lot about it over the last couple of days and more than that, to be honest with you. It's something that I talked about over the last year or so. I think that words do matter. And I think we need to invent a role models each and every one of us. And we all have an obligation to do so. And those words are perceived from my standpoint as being a racist. And if it's for other purposes, it's equally as bad. Four Republicans in the House of Representatives last night voted to condemn four. What do you say to the Republicans in Congress who have been reluctant, shall we say? Well, again, I think you should call it for what it is. I think it's important for each and every one of us who are elected and otherwise. It doesn't have to be just elected positions. I think we all have an obligation to step up and call it out for what it is. But at that point, and again, from what I've seen over the last couple of days, we have a lot of problems to address. The border crisis, southern border crisis is one. The detainees there need our attention. Congress needs to help solve this. And so instead of spending a lot of time debating on a resolution when they have all the forms in the world, they have the press there, and I've seen a lot of the statements. Make the statements, but get back to work and get to work on solving some of the issues that we're facing here in this country. But I mean, do you think that the Republicans reluctance to challenge this president and courage this president to do more of what your objective is? Well, again, whether this is racist remarks or whether they're a strategy for the next election, I think both are equally as condemning. And I believe that we should do better. We are better than this. And this just further divides us as a nation. And what we should be doing right now is pulling together to unite us in a common goal, common front. And that's what's, you know, it's disappointing. It's discouraging. But we need to rise above this and we need to do better. And I think you said at the outset, you found those comments to be racist. Yeah, I think to four Congresswomen who are brown. Yeah, I think that I don't know how else to proceed them. And yet we have the president saying he doesn't have a racist boner in his body. Well, again, whatever the reasoning for making the comments is disturbing, whether it's for a political strategy of some sort or whether they're racist in that regard. I think both are equally as disturbing and alarming. And we should, again, we should realize that words matter and how they're received matters so we can do better and we should be doing better. You said the comments are racist. Do you believe the president has racist? I don't know him well enough again to know whether they were racist and that's the way he feels. But again, does it really matter, you know, that the words are there? So whether it's something that he believes or something that he's using for a political strategy, both are equally bad from my standpoint. I mean, from your position as well, I don't know how many there are. One of the nation's Republican governors talking about these comments from the Republican president. And do you feel you're leading? There hasn't been students of four people, four Republicans in the House voted against the resolution or four, I'm sorry, for the resolution. Do you feel you're leading the GOP on this or helping to lead on? I'm not trying to lead the GOP on this. I'm trying to stand up for what I believe and what I think is necessary for us to move beyond this. And we should be, again, thinking about our actions, our words, our respect, our civility. We should be doing better as leaders. And again, in our own daily lives, each and every one of us, I think racism is learned behavior. And I believe that they, that isn't something that's part of our DNA. It's something that we learn. So we can teach better. We can be better role models in this regard. And again, I think this country is better than this. I think we have an opportunity to unite and to prove that we are the greatest nation in the world. What are your thoughts about Rebecca Holcomb especially saying that policies of your administration really benefit wealthy people? Well, I'm not sure how to take that to be honest with you. I think that I've proved that over the last three years that I'm trying to make Vermont more affordable for everyone. And I believe that we've done, we take a lot of steps forward in that regard. No taxes and fees in the first two years. Doing whatever we can to help low and moderate income Vermonters with social security and so forth. I think we've taken a lot of steps in trying to make Vermont more affordable. We have a long ways to go. It's not to the level that I think it should be. I think that we can do more and we'll continue to do all we can to make Vermont more welcoming, more affordable and more attractive. Are you going to run for reelection? You can tell us here now. We'll wait until after the legislative session. We have a long ways to go. Like I keep saying, it's been about seven months since I was sworn in. I think I should at least get through the first year before we have that conversation. Just don't join the job. We're doing some good work. I have a good team and I believe that that will will be able to benefit from some of the initiatives that I'll put forward. Some of the initiatives that the legislature has come up with and working together and trying to make Vermont again a better place. What do you think just generally about welcome entering the race? Well, I think it's not a surprise to me. I've heard the rumblings for quite some time. So I think it's great. Welcome. I welcome her to the race and I would expect that there'll be more candidates for governor before this is all over. I think she was okay. Education secretary? Well, obviously I chose her to stay on the previous administration for a variety of reasons and I would like her personally and we'll see how things go from here. Speaking of your team, we have some vacancies. A fast approach of a couple of commissioners. Expect there'll be more. Is this a natural time for change? Well, I think Al Gave said it well. He said there's no good time. And he chose the opportunity in a non-election year in the summer to make his decision. So I hope there's no more. I don't anticipate there to be any more. But I think the one that was just announced yesterday with Commissioner Anderson, I think he did it for all the right reasons. Family comes first no matter what. And from what he sat down with me to talk about his wife. And the intention was when he became commissioner, which is in his words his dream job, when he came back to Vermont, he thought his wife would be following him while her career path has taken off and she stayed in Washington. So now he had to make a decision and she's given him so much over the last two or three decades that he felt the need to give back. And so, you know, it says a lot about his character and his integrity and what I like about him. So I think he did it all for the right reasons. Disappointing is it may be for us and our team. He did it for the right reasons. I understand that there's some members of the St. Alvin's co-op who are a little concerned that they may be asked to vote on their future without really knowing what their equity is in the circumstances, all the financial information that they need. Are you aware of that? Is there a role of the status playing in this? Well, I don't know. I've been brought debrief on that, on the situation by the co-op board. I think that they have voted as a board to move forward and I think it's their obligation at this point to educate their members as to what it means. So this is a co-op. They're in charge. This is part of what a co-op is. So I think if the members don't feel as though they have enough information, they should certainly ask. Have you been following the city-place development or lack of progress on that? And are you at all concerned that a state-largest development project seems to be stuff that can be a new problem? Yeah, I'm concerned. I don't know any more than you probably do. I've seen it through the media and have not been apprised from anyone else as to where we stand, but it is concerning. We need to, again, move forward. It's always great to see construction activity and it's a long overdue in that area. So I know the mayor is concerned about this and I expect from what I've read that they'll have some more information hopefully this week about what direction you're going. Did you make a list this week, sir? Aye. No, it's a lot of them. All right. Well, thanks very much for coming in. Appreciate it. Thank you.