DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9710310016

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial

                                            LENGTH:   47 lines

EDUCATION GREEN LIGHT

Virginia Beach City Council has thrown its support behind a desperately needed new vocational technical center for the city.

Last week council voted to go ahead with the project, vowing that it will find the $13 million for the project because it is vital to the city's interests.

This will be a cooperative venture with Tidewater Community College that will allow a $23 million building to be built using both city and state funds along with grants from corporations and foundations. Because both college and high school students will use the center, it is projected that the facility will be in use virtually around the clock: during the day by public school students and in the evenings by TCC students.

Not only is Hampton Roads a low-wage area, some believe it is also a low-skill area. If true, that means that luring high-tech businesses to the city is made doubly hard because of a lack of qualified workers.

A state-of-the-art technical center will work hand in hand with employers, training workers in immediately marketable skills. Companies considering a move to Hampton Roads can be told: ``Tell us the skills your workers will need, and we'll teach those skills.''

For too long, educators and officials have concentrated on the needs of college-bound students at the expense of the majority of students who will not go on to complete a four-year degree. A new technical center would be a wise investment in the young people who desire job skills.

For many years the city has wanted to build a new technical center, but the price tag to go it alone was too high - almost $30 million.

The new vo-tech center will occupy an almost 140,000 square-foot building on the TCC campus on Princess Anne Road, which will be completed for about $7 million less than the city had projected.

We congratulate all parties to the deal - TCC, the public schools and City Council - for acting quickly and decisively to go ahead.

By approving the project with virtually no dissension, Virginia Beach has sent a message to Richmond that this is a high priority. It is.

We urge the local delegation to the General Assembly, including members from all Hempton Roads cities, to get behind this project. The presence of such a facility stands to benefit all residents and employers in the region. State representatives must urge the next governor to include the vo-tech center in his budget and then work hard for the approval of state funds to seal the deal.

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