Heartwell's State of City: kids futures

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Mayor George Heartwell's annual State of the City address was all about education and improving the future of children in the Grand Rapids community.

"Ladies and gentlemen remember this day," Heartwell said. "Today we launch a new chapter in our city's history and it fits under this rubric. Grand Rapids is a community that values its children and commits its resources towards improving the lives of our youngest citizens."

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Read the entire transcript of Mayor Heartwell's speech

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He touted his Mayor's 50 Businesses plan, which has met nearly half its goal of putting 500 youths to work, and Project Green, where 250 teens have logged over 8,000 hours of community service.

"Even with all these successes," he said, "far too many of the measures of child well-being are headed in the wrong direction."

There are 36.7% of children in Grand Rapids are living below the poverty line, in hunger and unsafe homes. "Four of 10 children don't have the resources they need to succeed in school."

Recently, Heartwell met with 43 education leaders. In the State of the City, he's now challenging all religious, business and civic organizations to talk about children, and to pass solutions on to the Community Research Institute at GVSU.

The mayor spoke on the need to improve literacy, extending successful programs like Upward Bound and said he's willing to work with Gov. Rick Snyder on his plan to have the state take over failing schools -- with a cautionary caveat.

"Grand Rapids people," he said, "know best how to solve Grand Rapids problems."