Annual Job School Cost Placed At $800,000 To $1 Million

(LAST OF THREE ARÏICLES) The annual cost of operating ■the proposed $5 million Ivocational-technical education Ifacility for Washtenaw County lis expected to be between $800,000 and $1 million. Experts plan to finance the I center with local and federal monies. The local funds will come from a county-wide one-mill tax which will be levied as long as the vocational program is in operation-if Washtenaw County voters say "yes" to the levy on Dec. 18. This would mean an annual tax increase of $1 per $1,000 of state equalized valuation for as long as the program exists. Federal funds should finance approximately one-half of the construction and equipment I costs and one-fifth of the annulal operating costs. Two propositions will appear on the Dec. 18 ballot: one requesting approval for a onemill tax and the other asking permission for bonding authority to erect and furnish the building. The funds to repay the $5 million bond issue would come from the one-mill tax. All registered voters are eligible to vote on the millage proposition. O n 1 y registered proper ty owners and their spouses may vote on the bondi n g proposition, h o w e v e r , according to state law. The vocational-technical center has been endorsed by the Representative Council of the Ann Arbor Education Association, the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce, the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti branches of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Ann Arbor League of Women Voters. Endorsements a 1 s o have come from the Washtenaw Community College, Washtenaw County Association of Contractors, Washtenaw County School Superintendents' Association, Washtenaw Intermedíate School District, St. Thomas School's Board of Education in Ann Arbor, the president's of the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, the Ypsilanti League of Women Voters, the Archidiocese of Detroit and the Washtenaw County -Master Plumbers Association. In addition, the Boards of Education of Ann Arbor, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Milan, Whitmore Lake and Willow Run have given their endorsements. The Ann Arbor Board of Education said it unanimously endorsed the center because of a number of "benefits" which would aecrue to the district. These include a range of vocational courses broad enough to serve the needs of Ann Arbor students, the availability of an increased number of skilled workers which has proved to be a positive stimulant to business and industry in other communities, and stable support to existing Ann Arbor vocational programs. The Ann Arbor trustees also said they believed there would be a reduced need for expensive vocational facilities in future Ann Arbor high schools, an economically efficiënt utilization of existing vocational facilities would result, and more efficiënt coordination and programming between the high school districts and Community College could take place. More detailed endorsements have also been received from a number of community leaders. Arm Arbor Mayor Wendell 'Hulcher said he supports the vocational education millage because "it means jobs for citizens who otherwise may not have jobs. Jobs today are more and more specialized and technical. To fulíill the jobs, that is . to qualify for them, persons must have specialized training at the high school, the post-high school and professional levéis." Peter B. Fletcher, Ypsilanti co-chairman of the vocational education campaign, commented that the program would "enable our county to meet the job training and employment needs for significant parts of our labor market of the future. Rapid expansión is forecast for this area in the next decade and without such an approach, Washtenaw County simply cannot keep pace with the demands being placed on our educational institutions." _m Rudolph Silverstone, director of the vocational education program at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, said: "No single high school, no matter how large, can offer more than a few programs of occupational training. This is true because of the cost involved and the number of students necessary to offer a program may be insufficient. "The area vocational center would provide a more extensive program of occupational training, a broader range of curriculum offerings, and would avoid unnecessary duplication of programs in the area." Lawrence Prakken, Ann Arbor co-chairman of the vocational program campaign in the county, believes "skill training is a way to help youth find employment, to provide much needed skilled w o r kers, t o_ make education more meaningful, to prevent the waste and misuse of talent, and often to lead to more advanced training in technical schools and colleges. "Too many Washtenaw County high school boys and girls are unable now to receive the amount and variety of skill training they need to get and hold a productive job. By pooling the resources of the county and its high schools, this program will fill the needs of that large group of overlooked students - those who are about to enter the world of work . . .". Prakken continúes, "The price we are asked to pay for this program is small indeed in comparison with the benefits resulting in making young peop 1 e more productive and responsible by opening new doors to educational opportunity in Washtenaw County,"