Huge advantage to building KTEC now

As far back as 1917, the US Government recognized the need for professional - technical education and started cooperating with states that promoted education in agriculture, trades and industry. Idaho adopted Vocation Education in 1919.

These tidbits of history are intended to let readers know that there is nothing new with education that teaches the skills to enter the workforce with a high school education or with some additional post secondary training.

The state of Idaho provides very little funding for construction of facilities; the primary responsibility for this rests in the hands of property owners. Lakeland, Post Falls, and Coeur d'Alene school districts will ask for voter approval on a $9.5 million levy to build a structure for KTEC.

Last year, the Idaho legislature passed a bill allowing cooperative school agencies the ability to ask their voters to approve construction using plant facilities levies rather than bonds. Using the plant facility levy mechanism will allow the building to be constructed on a pay as you go basis. This represents a huge advantage over traditional bonding methods because there are no financing costs. The planned SPFL is for two years and the building cannot be started until districts can see the money.

KTEC is the vision of a number of local business people who have purchased the land and donated it to the cooperative. There is never a good time for citizens to shoulder additional tax burden. However, with current depressed school construction costs, now is the time to move forward with this plan.

North Idaho College has plans to locate a professional technical facility in proximity with KTEC so dual credit courses can be offered. Dual credit provides high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn college credit while still attending high school.

Too long there has been a stigma associated with professional technical education. It should be noted that a greater percentage of PTE students attend post secondary education than students from the academic track. Further, in the future jobs reports, the Idaho Department of Labor estimates that only 21 percent of new jobs in the next six years will require a bachelor's degree or higher. KTEC will give motivated students with professional technical aptitudes, a career path to the other 79 percent of new jobs.

Each of the three school districts already provides some cooperative PTE services and there is some question whether their current contributions to this effort will be enough to sustain the expanded programs. At some point, KTEC may come back to the voters for more taxes to fund maintenance and operations. Voters should be aware of this potential.

Nonetheless, we believe that it makes good sense to give our youth the skills to compete for good jobs and to earn a decent living. KTEC is the most efficient and cost effective avenue to that end. We support a temporary property tax increase for two years to secure the construction of this facility and we urge your "yes" vote on Aug. 24.

Senator John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, is Senate Education Committee chairman. Representative Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, is House Education Committee chairman.