By Jeff Pittman
STLCC chancellor
The voters have spoken, and Proposition R passed! I am thankful and grateful to all of you for your support of St. Louis Community College.
The passage of this tax initiative means that the region will continue to benefit from St. Louis Community College graduates, but provide even more funding to do the following:
• Provide for programs and facilities to train and retrain adults for the good-paying jobs of today and tomorrow.
• Create real-world learning environments to prepare students to be job-ready for high-tech, in-demand fields such as health care, information technology and financial services.
• Equip the College with classroom technology that matches the tools students will use in the workplace.
• Repair and renovate existing facilities to ensure they are in good working condition and meet the demands of job training programs now and in the future.
• Provide safe and accessible learning environments for all students, employees and the community, during the day and night.
• Keep community college programs affordable to help create an educated workforce, which leads to an improved economy.
As I meet with business and community leaders, citizens, alumni, and parents, there is a common theme to our conversations: St. Louis Community College is critical to the growth and the competitiveness of our region.
A growing economy helps every single member of our community. By supporting Proposition R, you made the choice to invest in our current and prospective students. This investment improves the long-term future of the College and our local economy.
Many thanks to our Board of Trustees, the Invest in STLCC committee chaired by Mark S. Wrighton, Ph.D., chancellor emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis, and Candice Carter-Oliver, Ph.D., chief executive officer, Confluence Academies, and the region’s voters who demonstrated their faith in the importance of St. Louis Community College.
And again, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and students of the College, I would like to thank all of you for your support. The College stands as the beacon for open and quality education in St. Louis. Because of your support of Proposition R, the region will continue to benefit from St. Louis Community College’s commitment to an educated workforce.