My two kids started school this week, and I know many families throughout our region are feeling the same excitement and nervousness that my family felt. There is nothing more important that our children's education, so I was thrilled that North Carolina was one of only ten states to win federal Race to the Top Funding. Winning this funding shows that our educators and administrators are innovative and effective, and that they are setting serious benchmarks for further improvement. We are blessed with outstanding educators, principals, and staff. Last year North Carolina had more nationally certified teachers than any other state. This $400 million will give our teaching professionals additional resources to prepare North Carolina's youths for success throughout their lives. Additionally, through the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, which I supported and the House passed earlier this month, North Carolina will receive more than $298 million in education funding, preserving 5,700 jobs in the state.
A strong education is necessary to prepare our kids for good jobs. There is still a great deal of work to in Washington and in Western North Carolina to create sufficient stable, well-paying jobs. This past week, I hosted two events to help create jobs and connect job-seekers with available openings.
I hosted a "Business Funding Forum" at McDowell Technical College where several agencies and lending institutions gave expert advice to small business owners about access to capital, how to finance a startup, and how to expand an existing small business. The Small Business Administration says small businesses account for 60% of all new jobs, so growing our local businesses is a huge priority of mine. Over 50 large and small businesses were present at my most recent job fair at A-B Tech. Businesses in attendance were hiring for more than 500 open positions. While there is a long way to go, I felt optimistic watching almost 1500 job-seekers learn that there are new opportunities for them.
Last week, I also helped Alcoa announce a multi-million dollar renovation of the 100-year-old Cheoah Dam. They not only secured some federal funding, but even more importantly, the community worked together to make an unprecedented $110 million investment in the project. The modernization is going to mean great things for Western North Carolina - energy, long-term stability, and jobs.
This week made me hopeful for my family, for the children of Western North Carolina, and for hard-working families throughout our region. I am committed to continuing to work as hard as I can to provide our kids with high-quality education, to provide teachers with the funding and resources they need, and to ensure there will be jobs available for our kids when it is time for them to enter the workforce.
