Skills Center Dreams

WAITSBURG - If approved by the state Legislature, the Walla Walla Valley will get $10 million to build a center for high school students to get hands-on vocational training in construction, welding and manufacturing, natural resources and health care services.

"It's another opportunity for kids," said Mick Miller, the superintendent of the Walla Walla School District. "It's a place for kids to go into greater depth in certain areas (they're interested in). "

The Skills Center would be a new building at Walla Walla Community College. It would accept 105 high school juniors and seniors, 85 from Walla Walla, and five from Dayton, Waitsburg, Prescott and Touchet districts.

The vocational programs that would be offered are based on a needs survey of employment in the valley, said Doug Johnson, Dayton's superintendent.

For example, Johnson said there are not enough welders in the area and the companies who run natural resources programs and operate the wind turbines will need employees to do that work. Johnson said enrolling Valley kids in these programs will provide them with job skills by the time they graduate high school and put them on track to associate's degree programs to further their education.

Miller said the best part about these jobs is that they aren't typically outsourced.

In the last legislative session, Miller said design money was allocated for this valley skills center. Now, the project is back in the hopper before the legislature to secure funding for the building.

The money would come from the state's capital budget. The state issues bonds to pay for large projects rather than campaigning and taxing the local jurisdictions, Miller said. The request for the money was submitted on Jan. 27 and the districts will find out whether the legislature approves the funding when the session is over, possibly in March.

There is plenty of competition for the money, but Miller was confident in the project.

"I know we have strong legislative support," he said.

And he said he's not feeling anxious over the decision because the center would not even open until fall of 2014.

"It's a little bit down the road," he added.

Once the skills center opens, students would not pay extra tuition, but they may pay shop fees for instance if they were enrolled in the welding program, Johnson said.

One major element that is up in the air is how to get the students into Walla Walla for their classes.

"It's not an expense any of us are going to be able to occur," Johnson said about whether the districts can foot the bill to bus kids to Walla Walla.

Also Johnson is concerned that kids will have trouble graduating on time if they are in Walla Walla for half the day taking vocational classes.

Prescott Superintendent Bill Jordan said vocational classes will have to be cross-credited, meaning they would count toward graduation requirements so kids can still finish on time. Jordan said each school and department can decide how to cross-credit the courses.

What Johnson hopes will be easy is finding students who want to participate in the vocational programs. He hopes to simply have kids sign up, or if there are more kids interested than there are open spots, they would need to apply and go through some kind of selection process.