Investment now crucial for higher education
For several years now, state lawmakers have rightly focused much of their work during legislative sessions to address the shortfall in public school funding, inequities among school districts and the over-reliance on school district levies to pay for basic education.
That effort continues this session with — we hope — increases needed for special education funding and greater flexibility for districts in seeking levy funding for needs beyond basic education. But lawmakers also have work ahead of them to better support the education that is now required for a growing majority after the high school diplomas are handed out each spring.
You know the number by now; employers in the state expect to hire nearly three-quarters of a million workers — 740,000 — during the next five years. Yet, only 1 in 5 of those jobs will be open to those with only a high school diploma. The rest — more than 590,000 jobs — will require some level of post-secondary education, from technical training and certification programs to two- and four-year degrees and beyond. Yet, only 30 percent of current high school students will go on to attain post-secondary credentials or degrees. To reach a level of 70 percent necessary to provide the skilled and educated workers needed for those jobs, a greater investment in post-secondary and higher education is necessary.
State support for higher education — including the state’s public universities and community and technical colleges, as well as for student financial aid that makes post-secondary achievement possible for many — has increased during recent budget sessions. Yet state funding lags below the levels seen before the Great Recession.
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