When voters passed a $44 million bond for additions and improvements in the Lowndes County School District by the narrowest of margins, it brought to an end a difficult 10-month struggle for bond supporters.
A similar bond effort was rejected by voters in August. This time, a heavy turnout in the New Hope community, which will get a new high school out of the deal, made the difference — that and the district-wide support of a new centralized vocational center.
But for school district officials, the real work is just beginning.
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s vote, we realize that few details on the projects funded by the bond have been offered and this is particularly true of the $11 million set aside for the vocational center.
Few question the value of adding a centralized vocational center. At a time when manufacturing and industry requires workers with advanced skills, our schools should make every effort to provide training in these skills.
In many respects, this is a step into foreign territory for the district, whose focus until now has largely been directed toward preparing its students for higher education with a much smaller emphasis on preparing students who plan to move directly into the workforce upon graduation.
The new vocational center demonstrates a greater commitment to that aspect of education.
Fortunately, there are good resources available to these officials if they are inclined to take advantage of them.
We suggest the district immediately appeal to the Golden Triangle Development LINK, whose expertise in developing sites, infrastructure and plans is well-established. The LINK has the capacity to generate tons of useful data and is also skilled in helping its partners analyze that data.
District officials are considering several sites for the vocational center. The LINK can help them choose the best site, based on objective criteria. We strongly suggest the district appeal to the LINK for analyzing those potential sites.
We also strongly encourage the district to work closely with East Mississippi Community College, which has made vocational training a major part of its curriculum under the direction of Dr. Raj Shaunak, EMCC’s vice president of workforce and community services.
There is no need for the LCSD to re-invent the wheel. EMCC has laid that ground-work and is well on its way to developing its own state-of-the-art vocational center — the $38 million Communiversity.
Working with EMCC will not only provide LCSD expert guidance, it will also help ensure that the district’s vocational center complements, rather than duplicates, what EMCC is offering.
While $11 million may seem like a fair amount of money, the equipment students will need is costly.
The district must make wise decisions at every point in the process. Relying on the expertise of both the LINK and EMCC will help the district make the wise choices necessary to provide the best vocational center it can offer.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.