Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry speaks to the House and Senate members in the Oklahoma House Chamber during the State of the State address to a joint session of the Oklahoma Legislature on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Gov. Brad Henry told lawmakers Monday he refuses to let budget cuts hinder education at any level.

Henry said in his final State of the State Address any attempts to cut major funding to educational investments and programs to make up for budget shortfalls will not be tolerated.

“I will fight against anyone who attempts to uproot and hinder the progress of education in this state,” Henry said.

He said because education plays a vital role in the state’s future, the budget must be dealt with carefully.

“When we cut budgets and spending in areas we have to realize that these people are not just statistics,” Henry said. “These people are teachers grading papers, meat and poultry inspectors ensuring the safety of our food supply, the child care worker who is helping to prevent child abuse ... ”

Henry cited the budget crises he faced when he first took office in 2003.

“We were able to pull ourselves out of it while shielding education and health care,” he said.

Henry began speaking on the topic of education by addressing lower education and his refusal to cut teachers’ pay while fully covering them with health insurance.

When it came to higher education, Henry urged lawmakers to set up more endowments to help bring more professors to Oklahoma colleges and universities.

“By setting up endowments we have been able to double the money that attracts over 900 professors at our 21 colleges and universities,” Henry said. “We did it without any appropriations and I urge you to pass more.”

Henry also said Oklahoma has improved its colleges’ and universities’ campuses through $475 million in capital investments.

“I urge you to do more so that students who aren’t even in college yet can begin reaping the benefits of these good investments,” Henry said.

Henry’s main portion of the speech was spent on the current state budget crisis, but he was optimistic about the future and asked for bipartisanship.

“The voters of this state set up a Rainy Day Fund 25 years ago and today it is raining,” Henry said.

“But we must look forward. This recession will end and the sun will shine again, but we cannot get through this tough time by ruining everything we have built in the past decade.”

Henry asked to increase the Rainy Day Fund from 10 to 15 percent and urged legislators to be careful where they cut agencies’ budgets.

“Slashing spending can be good campaign rhetoric but there are also human consequences,” Henry said. “More than 70 percent of our legislature was not here during our last revenue failure.

“We must once again look through partisan rancor ... The stakes are simply that high but we are up to the task.”