Obama cautions against cuts in education

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama urged the nation's governors to avoid cutting resources for public education as they look for ways to trim budgets, saying future U.S. economic growth depends on a skilled workforce.

Addressing the National Governors Association at the White House on Monday, Obama said both parties must get "past the old dogmas" about education to keep the country competitive.

"Too many states are making cuts to education that I believe are simply too big," Obama told the association, which is holding its annual conference in Washington. "We don't have to choose between resources and reform; we need resources and reform."

The White House issued a report showing that 41 of the 50 states reduced spending for colleges, universities and community colleges, with New Hampshire making the deepest cut at 41 percent, followed by Arizona, 25 percent, and Wisconsin, 21 percent. Rhode Island was one of nine states to increase spending, up 13 percent, according to the Grapevine Annual Compilation on State Fiscal Support for Higher Education.

A majority of states, 28, also reduced funding for elementary and secondary education, the administration said, citing a report by the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, based in Washington.

"Nothing more clearly signals what you value as a state as the decisions you make about where to invest," Obama told governors. "Budgets are about choices, so today I'm calling on you to choose to invest more in teachers, invest more in education, and invest more in our children and their future." He also urged governors to follow the lead of 21 states that require students to remain in high school until they graduate or turn 18.

As the recovery is gaining steam and U.S. manufacturers are adding jobs, Obama said, states must ensure that all their residents have the skills and education they need to keep the country competitive.

Over the weekend, presidential candidate Rick Santorum called Obama a "snob" because "he wants everybody in America to go to college."

"I think because there are a lot of people in this country that have no desire or no aspiration to go to college because they have a different set of skills and desires and dreams that don't include college," Santorum, said.

Without mentioning Santorum, Obama told the governors he wasn't referring only to a four-year degree. He said his call includes community college training for manufacturing jobs that increasingly require more than a high school education. "We all want Americans getting those jobs of the future," he said.