In the debate over our state’s budget woes an important fact is too often ignored. During an economic downturn there is no wiser investment for our state to make than in higher education.
Luckily, our economy is still healthy in the Pacific Northwest and local businesses are finding ways to be successful. The Legislature needs to continue to support these businesses, and the most important step we can take is to train more skilled employees.
When I talk to local business owners the first thing they tell me is that they can’t hire enough trained workers from within their community. They are forced to recruit employees from out of state and abroad to fill jobs that should be taken by our homegrown students.
I believe the primary goal of our education system has to be preparing Washingtonians for Washington jobs. The greatest country in the world shouldn’t have to rely on other countries for its workforce needs. It pains me to think what the future will be like if we can’t educate more citizens to higher levels.
In today’s economy our state competes with countries around the world for the best ideas and minds. We were the industrial champions of the 20th century, but our past success guarantees us little today. Because our economy has consistently proven to be stronger than most economies, I have long talked about our state’s position in the world as a race between the tortoise and the hare. We have been racing ahead but we are falling asleep and the tortoise is catching up.
Right now too many students are falling through the cracks. Too many students do not finish high school. Of the students who do graduate, too many need remedial education before they can take college level classes. We need to make sure these students leave high school with the skills needed to be successful in college.
We must be more efficient with the resources we already have and study new ways of delivery to explore using new technology to educate students where they live. Furthermore, we need to drastically increase the number of graduate and professional degrees we produce. Simply put, we aren’t doing enough and our economy is hurting because of it.
If we cut off the flow of talent and labor into our economy, our economy will only continue to weaken. Without additional nurses, technicians, computer professionals and engineers, our economy will only further suffer.
We must continue to educate students in fields that are in high demand and create a business-driven education system.
This next legislative session we will make difficult budget choices. Unfortunately, higher education does not have a cadre of special interest lobbyists in Olympia. I urge you to contact your legislators – remind them that an educated citizenry is vital for a functioning economy. The higher education budget must not take the hit when budget cuts are made.
I don’t want Washington to be passed by the tortoise. We need to wake up and keep racing ahead.
Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, is the chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee
