Hamerlinck’s Observations Week 10

Recently the Governor revealed his $750 million dollar temporary work plan that, over a 20 year span, would actually cost taxpayers $1.3 billion dollars when all the interest and finance charges are added. We hear the ultimate goal of these bonding packages are to put people to work and insulate Iowa from the economic struggles plaguing the rest of the country.

We must first remember that the federal stimulus package and the Governor’s bonding proposal utilize money which taxpayers have not paid yet. This is like saying we are going to fix our economy today by spending your tax dollars next year. This is where we hear debates about the State of Iowa using credit cards to solve our current financial turmoil.

My ultimate goal is to find a solution to our current economic downward trend which does not require the State of Iowa to go further into debt, which will create more jobs and which will continue to be an asset for years in the future. This is why two weeks ago I introduced Senate File 402 – an education pilot program.

To explain the program, I’d like to start with giving you a visual, think of high school student achievement in the 1950s mimicking the standard deviation which appears on a standard bell curve. There were few students earning failing grades, few earning all “A’s,” and the majority of students earned grades in the satisfactory or above range. In post-modern American society we are experiencing a trend toward polarization in student achievement resulting in a larger number of students excelling in high school with straight As and a larger population falling below the satisfactory threshold. Those in the higher achieving brackets are often moving onto post-secondary education. (Note, this discussion excludes the debate on academic dilution.)

While, statistically, this is occurring in education we are seeing simultaneously, the need to provide a sustainable workforce for our large employers in the region. Statistically, we are noticing an increased percentage of the local workforce which will become retirement eligible in the next 5-10 years.

Fixing all of our political and state problems will not happen in one piece of legislation, however, one piece of legislation can foster a discussion and put into motion ideas which can put Iowa on the right track toward progress. Senate File 420 is a pilot program with the support of the Eastern Iowa Community College District which allows high school students entering their junior year of high school to dual enroll in their local high school where the student will still receive a diploma and the local community college where the student will receive an additional certificate in technical training. In the pilot program, if approved, limited state funding would follow the student for academic requirements at the community college.

Each time I attend meetings between members of the state’s economic development department and perspective companies, the first questions we are asked relate to the quantity and quality of the local workforce. Senate File 420 attempts to offer a template for ensuring the reproduction of a local workforce.

Bonding for one-time projects will put individuals to work only for the length of the specific project. Creating a new method of workforce development may be used as an economic development tool which creates long-term employment. Long-term employment and one-time work are not the same.

I strongly encourage you to read the pilot program presented in Senate File 402 (click here to read: http://tinyurl.com/djrawl) and contact me with you ideas.

Thank you for reading this letter and I welcome you to contact me on any issue at the Capitol this session. (Shawn.hamerlinck@legis.state.ia.us, Phone: 515-281-3371)