Hon. Justin Chenette
  • Home
  • About
  • Campaign
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Pictures
  • Books
    • Children's Book
    • Coloring Book
  • Columns
  • Projects
    • Public Relations Consulting Firm
    • Right to Know Advisory Committee
    • Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission
    • Age Friendly Saco
    • Maine Democracy Project
    • Rotary
    • Thornton Academy Class Agent
    • Past >
      • Saco Main Street
      • Legislative >
        • Newsletters
        • Committees & Caucuses
        • Student Page Program
        • Search for a Bill
        • Listen to Committees LIVE
        • Budget
        • Senate Democrats
        • Young Elected Officials Network
        • Maine Young Democrats
  • Speaker
  • Scholarships
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Campaign
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Pictures
  • Books
    • Children's Book
    • Coloring Book
  • Columns
  • Projects
    • Public Relations Consulting Firm
    • Right to Know Advisory Committee
    • Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission
    • Age Friendly Saco
    • Maine Democracy Project
    • Rotary
    • Thornton Academy Class Agent
    • Past >
      • Saco Main Street
      • Legislative >
        • Newsletters
        • Committees & Caucuses
        • Student Page Program
        • Search for a Bill
        • Listen to Committees LIVE
        • Budget
        • Senate Democrats
        • Young Elected Officials Network
        • Maine Young Democrats
  • Speaker
  • Scholarships
  • Contact

Beyond the Headlines: Investing in Community Colleges

10/29/2013

0 Comments

 
The ability for kids to go to college, to better themselves and subsequently their communities, can seem like a fleeting idea for many working and middle class families.
Picture
According to a Fidelity survey done this past spring with recent college graduates across the country, the average college-related debt is about $35,000. While this might be on the high-end for Maine students and just one survey, it is reflective of the growing costs of higher education. For many the price tag is simply not attainable, especially the often more expensive private colleges and universities. Public colleges like the University of Maine System and community colleges are paths that offer many Maine students an opportunity to compete in what has become a global economic marketplace.

In 2012, of the 13,255 Maine high school graduates, 63 percent, or 8,287 students, went on to attend college; 76 percent are attending a four-year school and 24 percent are attending a two-year school with 71 percent staying in Maine for their educational needs.

After meeting with officials at York County Community College at one of its legislative breakfasts, I discovered that its enrollment numbers are on the rise. In fact, community colleges have had to turn away more than 4,000 students in each of the last two years statewide from courses and programs they needed to complete a degree. The double-edge sword to increased enrollment is the space and facilities needed to grow with it to ensure they meet the demand.

Question 5 on the state ballot referendum on Nov. 5 asks: Do you favor a $15,500,000 bond issue to upgrade buildings, classrooms and laboratories on the seven campuses of the Maine Community College System in order to increase capacity to serve more students through expanded programs in healthcare, precision machining, information technology, criminal justice and other key programs?

Bonding isn’t always the answer. This isn’t free money. With that said, targeted investments in infrastructure and, in this case, education can be effective tools in expanding opportunities for economic growth in the long term. For us in the Saco Bay area, question 5 will invest $3.4 million in York County Community College. This money will go toward its plans for a $6.5 million expansion project with the rest of the resources coming from private money. As someone who took advantage of both a cheaper price tag for courses at York County Community College and the early studies program at USM while in high school, this is a much-needed project.

With the addition of a precision machining training facility, computer technology certificates/courses, and strong partnerships with regional job creators including manufacturers, the school is establishing itself as the go-to place for young people who want to head into a specialized trade, gain 21st century skill sets and for those later in life trying for a second career. This emphasis is critical for the so-called skills gap we are facing in Maine. An estimated 4,000 jobs will go unfilled by 2018 because businesses can’t find workers with the skills they need. Those skills can be and are being taught at community colleges. This problem isn’t going away as Maine’s population is retiring and aging in record numbers. We must keep young people here by providing the educational and subsequent economic opportunities that incentivize and warrant a successful Maine life; the way life should be.

While the question 5 bond isn’t a magic wand, it is a targeted investment in something that is working and can work to help Maine’s longterm economic engine be not only sustainable, but also, hopefully grow. I urge you to vote yes on 5.

Justin Chenette is the state representative for Saco. You follow his updates at www.justinchenette.com and via facebook.com/justinforsaco.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Beyond the Headlines 

    Weekly Column featured in The Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier Newspaper by Rep. Justin Chenette of Saco

    Archives

    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    June 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture
Meet Justin
News
Contact
Email:
justinchenette@gmail.com
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 315
Saco, ME 04072
Picture
Paid for & Authorized by Justin Chenette
Picture