LIVONIA — Michigan could be the first state in the nation to make preschool through community college free if Gov. Whitmer can convince state lawmakers to approve her plan as part of the state budget this summer.

But that proposal — a key provision of her $80.7 billion budget plan — appears in jeopardy after the Democratic-led State House omitted it later Wednesday as legislators approved their own alternative spending plan.

“If we can say Michigan is the first place in the country that says from four years until 20 we are going to educate people with the best skills without them having to take on debt, it will send a message to the rest of the world, to the economy, and to potential employers that this is the place you want to be,” Whitmer said on Wednesday after she toured the Livonia Career Technical Center and met with students there.

Whitmer is proposing that community college be tuition-free for every high school graduate. The move would save students an average of $4,000 while they earn an associate’s degree or skills certificate at a community college, her staff said, and help them land a better-paying, high-skill job.

The investment would be part of Whitmer’s Sixty by 30 goal, which is to have 60 percent of working-age adults earn a postsecondary education by 2030. The community college guarantee is not part of the House’s proposed budget, Whitmer acknowledged, saying she is confident she can negotiate with the legislature.

The governor’s plan would also let some students qualify for an additional $1,000 to offset costs for food, housing, transportation and child care.

“This is a really important investment, no matter what side of the aisle you are on or what side of the state you live on,” Whitmer said. “Paths to skills are crucial to be able to make a living in this economy.”

High school students at the Livonia Tech Center told Whitmer about their focus on robotics, sports medicine and auto repair and how some of them planned to attend community college, a four-year university or seek work after earning their credentials.

Glenn Cerny, president of Schoolcraft College, who was part of the tour with Whitmer and other leaders, said community colleges are the great equalizer for all workers.

“We get people and we bring them in wherever they are and then we take them to whatever level they want to go,” Cerny said. “We are very diversified… across the board it is an amazing collection of individuals accomplishing very major things.”

Cerny said community college is a partnership with businesses to ensure the workforce is skilled. About 75 percent of students at his college are part-time.

“We do not want to be a loser state, we want to be a gaining state,” Cerny said in terms of businesses locating in Michigan. “The important piece about that is eliminating barriers. Today is about eliminating financial barriers and its about eliminating any impediments.”