Dear editor:

I’ve served on the Northwest College board for 11 years. Before you fill out your ballot in November, I want to share a few things our neighbors should know.

A statewide study found that Wyoming’s community colleges add about $1.1 billion to the state’s economy every year. Graduates earn more, pay more in taxes, and a lot of them stay in Wyoming.  That’s a solid return on what we put in.  At the same time, the colleges have already lost more than $13 million to property tax exemptions over the past few years.  At a college of our size, that means losing instructors, not buying equipment, or not keeping up on building repairs.  

Proposition 1 would cut into that same local funding yet again. That money doesn’t come back; it comes out of the budget every year. So, then the college can’t start needed programs, hire or replace faculty, or even offer students classes they need if their selected class is full. I can’t claim to have a crystal ball to know how deep the cuts will run, but I do know the college would have fewer dollars to work with, and something would have to give.

So, before you vote, think about who uses this college.  The high school student taking dual credit classes so he/she can save on tuition later or graduate high school with two years of college already completed and paid for. The parent in their 40s learning a new skill or trade so they can support their family. The nurse at our hospital who trained here and still lives down the road. And the kids that will come after all of them.         

Local businesses use the workers from college programs: welders, nurses, IT folks, truck drivers, etc. Our college trains the people who help keep this town runnning, and it does it close to home so they don’t have to leave to get an education. That’s worth considering.  However you vote, please go in knowing what’s at stake for your community college and our kids.

Mark Wurzel

Trustee, Northwest College

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