Skilled workforce addressed at legislative forum

     The theme during the March 31 legislative forum in Monticello was retaining Iowa’s skilled workers.

     Jones County Economic Development (JCED) hosted the event in downtown Monticello with Sens. Dan Zumbach and Tod Bowman and Reps. Lee Hein and Andy McKean all present.

     Steve Ovel, a lobbyist on behalf of Kirkwood Community College, and Dan Kiley, an industrial tech teacher at Anamosa High School, both questioned the legislators on cutting funding to Iowa’s community colleges and high schools when it comes to offering skilled courses such as welding.

     “I want to address to impact the Governor’s budget is going to have on our community college system,” said Ovel. “There are some aspects of that you may not be aware of.”

     Ovel said community colleges across Iowa have already absorbed $4.75 million in cuts in FY 2017.

     “The Governor is recommended an additional cut of $1.2 million,” he added. “That’s bad enough.”

     On top of those cuts, Ovel explained that Gov. Branstad is looking to take $10 million out of Kirkwood’s workforce programs. He said those programs are supported by funding from Iowa’s gaming revenues.

     “He’s reducing six of our workforce programs by 50 percent,” said Ovel. “It’s one thing to talk about the need to trim 2 or 3 percent; he’s taking 50 percent.”

     With those cuts to programming, Ovel said Kirkwood is not looking at “significant loss of professional staff.”

     He said one of the major issues the state needs to address is a skilled workforce. Ovel asked how these cuts are a good thing?

     “Those 50 percent cuts to those six programs are going to be catastrophic,” said Ovel.

     Zumbach explained the Governor, House and Senate all bring their budgets together at the table. From there, the three have to come together.

     “It will be a complicated work in progress,” said Zumbach of the budget process. “It will be difficult.”

     Zumbach said they have to find a way to provide all the best services they can but being fiscally responsible.

     McKean said it’s a ways to go until a final budget is in place; but he agreed with Ovel’s sentiments. “Those cuts are excessive. I’d like to find other ways to make our budget work.”

     One area McKean felt needed more attention is the Iowa Board of Regents’ budget. This group oversees Iowa’s three public universities (Iowa State, Iowa, and Northern Iowa). He explained these institutions have “enormous endowments funds,” some reaching billions of dollars. McKean said while some strings are attached to those funds, “there is at 15 percent of those endowment funds that have no strings attached whatsoever.

     “I’d like to see the Regents step up to the plate and help us somewhat with the budget crunch.”

     Bowman said it’s not quite that simple, because of some of those endowment funds, only the interest can be spent.

     “It’s a little more problematic than it sounds,” Bowman said. “Not to mention a little hypocritical when we’re sitting on over $600 million in rainy day funds.”

     But, Bowman said cuts would certainly have to be made.

     From an economic develop perspective in rural Iowa, JCED Director Dusty Embree said those workforce programs offered by community college are programs that JCED taps into.

     Kiley said the welding programs offered and funded by Anamosa high school and middle school produce employees for welding jobs all over the state.

     “All vocational programs are more expensive than a normal classroom,” he said. “As school funding goes down, those programs take a hit.”

     Kiley questioned Senate File 475 saying it undermines public schools.

     “Private schools do not teach vocational programming,” he said. “Public schools do. It seems like we have a huge attack on public schools, but that’s where that workforce typically comes from. It’s not from private schools because they are expensive programs to run, and they don’t do it.”

     Zumbach said one of the issues early on was the state and schools pushing students into the four-year college and beyond mindset. “All of a sudden,” he said, “we have this gap. We have to bring that back.”

     Monticello City Administrator Doug Herman said locally, with heavy industry in Jones County, the vocational programming offer at Kirkwood is important.

     “It’s important to our industrial economy,” he said.