Mediaboss Marketing

Less than two months after Bonneville County voters overwhelmingly approved a taxing district to help start and fund a new community college, Republicans in Bingham County are launching an effort to join the district.

The Bingham County Republican Central Committee voted 14 to 1 this week to circulate a petition that would ultimately give voters in the county a chance to decide if they want to be part of the district of the College of Eastern Idaho.

Over (the) next few days members of the Bingham County Central Committee will be going door to door collecting the needed signatures to place the measure on the ballot, said Dan Cravens, chairman of the committee, adding that they need at least 100 verified signatures to hold the vote in November.

The petition states, We, the undersigned citizens and qualified electors of the State of Idaho, in and for Bingham County, respectfully petition the Board of Trustees for the College of Eastern Idaho that Bingham County in its entirety join the Community College District for the College of Eastern Idaho.

Cravens said they are looking for volunteers to help circulate the petition and assist in future campaign efforts. For more information, people can contact the Bingham County Republican Central Committee at collegeforbingham@gmail.com.

While Bonneville County needed a two-thirds majority vote to launch the district and community college, Bingham County would only need a simple majority vote to join it, Cravens said.

Rick Aman, president of Eastern Idaho Technical College (EITC) in Idaho Falls, which will become the College of Eastern Idaho, is thrilled that another county is expressing interest in joining the district.

Im very excited to hear that Bingham County is showing this level of interest this early, he said.

Although Aman has heard some talk from other counties, Bingham is the only one hes aware of that is moving forward with efforts to join the district.

Cravens estimates that joining the district would cost the average homeowner between $11 and $12 a year. But he says there are many benefits to doing so.

Joining the district would give Bingham County some say in the programs that will be offered at the college, Cravens said. It could also open doors to bringing courses into Bingham County.

Cravens believes its important to provide more educational opportunities in Bingham.

Bingham Countys educational attainment lags behind the nation and state, he said.

A community college will give high school students more access to dual enrollment classes and provide some additional help for those who need more time to prepare for a four-year university. In addition, Cravens said a community college will help people to begin their education at a more affordable cost.

The committee feels strongly that being included in the new district will help both youth and older residents continue their educations and gain new job-related skills, Cravens said. We also feel that being part of the district will benefit the overall level of educational attainment in the county, and help economic development efforts to attract new employers.

Employers tend to be more interested in areas that have a skilled and talented workforce, Cravens said.

Joining the community college district could also save Bingham County a lot of money.

Currently, Bingham will have to pay $50 per credit hour, up to 10 credits per semester, for each local student who attends the College of Eastern Idaho because the county is outside of the district, Cravens said. But if its part of the district, Bingham would be exempt from that fee.

As Bingham County Republicans begin their campaign to join the community college district, Aman says efforts to open the college in Bonneville County are also moving forward.

He expects the Idaho State Board of Education will soon name the community colleges five trustees. There were 54 applicants.

A lot of people are interested in serving, Aman said.

EITC is also in the process of getting approval to add two new degrees an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Science to make it possible for students who attend the future college to transfer their credits to other schools.

Aman says they want to have a soft opening this fall, just months after voters approved plans to create the college. That fast turnaround is possible partly because EITC is already accredited and has buildings already in place.

If this can work in August, it would be about 100 days. Thats a phenomenal speed when it comes to post-secondary education, Aman said.

Go here to read the rest:
Republicans campaigning to add Bingham County to new community college district - Idaho State Journal