In two weeks, we will celebrate a new year.

In four weeks, the Virginia General Assembly will start its 2016 legislative session. Their actions will determine whether the state springs forward with progress and uplift for all, or will be mired in a bog of callous self-interests and regressive politics.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe was to unveil on Thursday his two-year budget proposal. This document will reveal his vision of the future for Virginia’s 8.3 million people — of whom 35 percent are people of color, nearly 14 percent are seniors 65 or older, 22 percent are under 18 and 11.3 percent are living below the poverty level, according to Census data.

Now the citizens will see exactly what Gov. McAuliffe believes is important — what and who should have priority in the state — by where he proposes to allocate money.

This spending plan is significant because it is the first and only budget Gov. McAuliffe will have the most control over during his four years in office. When he was elected, the Northern Virginia Democrat inherited a budget plan designed by his predecessor, former Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican from Hampton Roads. This plan will be Gov. McAuliffe’s alone, showing how he wants to leave his mark in Virginia.

As late as Wednesday, the governor was offering glimpses of his plan during strategic announcements around the state. What has been revealed so far is his desire to be known as the education governor. His plan will include an increase of more than $1 billion for K-12 public education and higher education in Virginia.

Among his significant education proposals:

• Nearly $140 million to hire 2,500 new teachers to help Virginia rebound from the loss of 5,000 public school employees since 2008.

• $50 million for dropout prevention, parental engagement and other programs for at-risk student populations.

• $1 million to expand a program aimed at preventing students with discipline problems from being sucked into the prison pipeline.

• $48 million for financial aid for in-state college students.

We agree with Gov. McAuliffe that education helps to lift the lives and prospects of individuals, and that this major infusion of money — touted as the largest new investment in public education in the state in more than a decade — could lay a foundation for a stronger and better commonwealth.

We also are encouraged by his plan to provide resources to widen access to higher education, and to help shut off the school-to-prison pipeline that has so dramatically impacted and harmed students of color in the Richmond area and around the state. We would like to see even more money put into diversion programs that have proven results. We call on members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus to lead the charge toward that end during the General Assembly session.

While every Virginia governor wants to be known as the standard bearer for a particular improvement in the state, we hope that Gov. McAuliffe will fight — and fight hard — to expand health care to an estimated 400,000 Virginians who still are uninsured.

Health issues can devastate a family and health care costs can bankrupt individuals. Too many of our fellow Virginians still choose not to get the care they need until it’s too late because they can’t afford to pay the bills for treatment and/or medications.

Expanding the Medicaid program would help many of those people and bring $5 billion in federal money to the state during the next two years. If the General Assembly approves an expansion of the Medicaid program, the infusion of federal dollars would help free state funds for other critical needs in Virginia.

Unfortunately, Republicans have beat back Gov. McAuliffe’s attempts to expand health care to the uninsured for the past two years. This year, the governor has the backing of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, a strong lobby group and campaign contributor to many of the 140 lawmakers who will gather in Richmond in January.

We hope that with the strength of support from right-minded lawmakers and the power of whatever maneuvers Gov. McAuliffe deems possible, 2016 will be the year that Virginia makes progress by rising to help its most vulnerable residents.

In 2016, we should move ahead, not backward.