Gov. Tom Vilsack continued to push for early childhood education during a trip to Washington as part of the National Governors Association meeting Monday.

Vilsack attended the 2005 National Governors Association Education Summit during the weekend and discussed Iowa’s role as an education leader in the country.

During a telephone conference with reporters Monday, he said he hoped Iowa would help lead the way to change how people view high school diplomas.

He said he wanted a diploma to eventually indicate more than a student attending some classes. Vilsack wants a diploma to mean a student has acquired a certain amount of knowledge and is now well prepared for college and the workplace.

“I was pleased as I listened to the various presentations that the state of Iowa is ahead of the game in this effort as a result of the Iowa Learns Council,” he said.

“There is work currently underway to make our curriculum more rigorous and relevant.”

Vilsack also said during his time at the summit, he heard talk of an “interesting link” between the success of a high school student and early childhood.

He said this reinforced his belief, and the belief of major legislators, that early childhood education is something that needs to be invested in and supported.

In his budget, the governor asked the Legislature to invest $39 million in early childhood education programs. This could be just the beginning of spending by the state on early education programs, however.

“There is a lot of work that is yet to be done, and my hope is that by the end of this legislative session we have the resources and direction to continue the momentum that we started last year with the Learns Council,” Vilsack said.

Although the governor has been away from Iowa, he talked with President Bush about the ramifications of eliminating intergovernmental transfers, which could create a $70 million hole in Iowa’s Medicaid program.

“The president was very clear that the intergovernmental transfer system needed to be changed and may even need to be eliminated,” Vilsack said.

“He has a point on this.”

Vilsack also discussed with Bush the long-term viability of Medicaid.

“There is a discussion taking place in the state and in the nation as to whether or not the budget should drive the reforms or whether good health care policy should,” Vilsack said.

“Governors, in a bipartisan fashion, do not believe that a budget number should drive reform,” he said.

“It ought to be about providing access to quality health care that is sustainable and affordable.”