Community colleges near top of legislative agenda 

The push for community colleges has a powerful new ally.
Governor-elect C.L. “Butch” Otter said last week that community colleges are a top priority of his new administration.
Otter, who embraces his history as a lackluster student, said Boise Junior College gave him a second chance. (Boise Junior College is the old name many University of Idaho graduates still use for a school now known as Boise State University.)
“By today’s standards, I would not have been able to get into any four-year institution anywhere,” Idaho’s newest governor said.
But the opportunity to attend a junior college led to a spot at the College of Idaho, and good grades there gave Otter the start on a path that included the top post at Simplot International.
Business owners and advocates across the state have touted community colleges as a key issue for the business community.
“We all want a better climate for doing business in this state,” Otter said.
Idaho has two community colleges: College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls and North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. Last year’s state budget allocated a total of $22 million for the two-year institutions.
The two schools give as much as they get.
North Idaho College President Michael Burke said his school pumped $305 million into the community.
In fact, the expansion of the state’s community college system is such a critical component to future business growth in Idaho that groups like the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce have made them a priority for the coming legislative session.
Community colleges generally offer more than reluctant students a second chance to get on track toward a bachelor’s degree. They also tend to offer six- to 18-month certificate programs for electricians, beauticians and clean-room technicians.
Expansion of Idaho’s community college system has been fought over before at the Legislature. But it might actually get done in 2008 because a) there is political will from both parties and from within both factions of the ruling Republican party, and b) there is a general consensus on how to expand Idaho’s current set-up for community colleges.
Ask most legislators and they’ll tell you the same thing touted by both candidates in the recent race for governor: The current community college model works well. A mixture of state funding, local funding, separation from the state Department of Education and direct oversight by representatives of the communities is a recipe for success.
That agreement seems to reach past party lines.
During a recent lunch at North Idaho College, Sen. Mike Burkett, D-Boise, sat across from former Republican legislator John Sandy, now chief of staff for Gov. Jim Risch.
They marveled at the nice Coeur d’Alene campus and the ways the school fits the needs of that community.
That model works, Burkett said, and the state should just keep it if the community college system is expanded.
Sandy agreed.

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