Kilmer, Rockefeller and Sheldon lead push for 4-year college on Kitsap-Olympic peninsula

OLYMPIA — Residents of the Kitsap peninsula want good jobs. Area businesses want highly trained employees. Local legislators think it’s time to link those needs in a four-year college.

Senators Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, Phil Rockefeller, D-Bainbridge Island, and Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, have sponsored Senate Bill 5978, which would direct the state’s Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board to address higher education needs in Kitsap, Mason, Jefferson and Clallam counties and evaluate the need for a baccalaureate-granting institution.

“The most important driver for job growth is education,” said Kilmer, the bill’s prime sponsor and the vice chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee. “Our employers need skilled workers to compete, and our workers need skills. It’s time we start moving forward on ensuring we have the capacity here in our region to provide the education opportunities that our workers and our businesses need today – and tomorrow.”

SB 5978 would direct the HEC Board to assemble a local advisory committee, consisting of local education and business leaders and local legislators to develop preliminary and final recommendations to the Legislature by January and December, respectively, of 2008.

“This is one of the first steps in the process to meeting the educational needs of the peninsula,” Rockefeller said. “Education is the cornerstone of our economy and of our community. With an economy that is becoming increasingly reliant on baccalaureate degrees, this effort’s time has come.”

Sheldon, a member of the Senate Higher Education Committee said, “It’s time to spread education funding to the areas that are less served. This is a good first step in that direction.”

The bill was introduced on Thursday and will be referred to the Senate Higher Education Committee.

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