Closing 'educational Gap'

Editor.ThfNews: l I strongly urge a yes vote in the Jan. 22 special election for an Area Skills (vocational-technical) Center. The greatest gap in our educational system today centers on student dropouts . during high school years. These are the unmotivated, the unskilled and ■ the source of other costly problems to those who pay the taxes. „ I Young people, ages 14-24, in j enaw County constitute 18% of the labor j force, but over 36% of them are unemployed. Welfare costs, crime statistics and high auto insurance rates focus on I this age bracket and more often than not I on the unskilled and the unemployed. The community college meets a real Ineed but picks students up after high I school where the proposed Center would I give them employable skills bef ore they I leave high school. I As a legislator, I want no duplication I- no inefficiency - and as a taxpayer, I Iwant no new taxes. But after careful study I am convinced Ithat plans for this Center are sound and i Inon-duplicative and I pledge myself as a I legislator to strive to see that the best Ipossible results are obtained. Finally, it's going to cost me less as a ■taxpayer to pay for this Center noH thanl Ito have to subsidize all the other future I ■costs which will surely come if this gap An our educational system is not closed. I urge a yes vote on Jan. 22.