Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s State of the City speech Wednesday night focused on two issues more than any others: crime and public education. Jackson highlighted the city’s current efforts for addressing crime and a couple initiatives for education.
Jackson worked the stage at Public Auditorium for an hour, reciting numbers of sidewalks fixed, buildings demolished, police officers hired, development projects funded and so on.
But fixing the city’s struggling schools and addressing violent crime were what got him most animated.
“To address crime, particularly violent crime, we cannot depend on law enforcement alone, we cannot do that. A broader, holistic approach has to be used," Jackson said.
He said his ongoing youth violence prevention initiative, along with hiring more officers in the Cleveland police department, were the answers to that problem.
And on education, he pointed to two efforts. One is the Say Yes to Educationprogram that provides support services and college scholarships, and the other is the use of virtual reality in the city’s classrooms.
Listen to Mayor Frank Jackson's complete State of the City address here: