Dear friends and neighbors,
This week’s e-newsletter is focused on jobs and the economy, but first I wanted to spread the word about free summer meals at the playgrounds.
Every Monday-Friday from June 23rd to August 29th (except the 4th of July) free meals will be available for all youth under 18. While we had to make many hard choices in our budget this year, I am glad we were able to protect this funding. Because of this program, kids will have access to healthy meals throughout the summer.
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Last week I was able to attend the groundbreaking for the Bates Technical College Fire Service Training Center. This new facility, supported by a $42 million investment from our capital budget, will help give students hands-on training in a high-tech, real world environment. This is a big deal for the entire region and adds to Bates Technical College’s 85-year legacy of workforce training and education.
That’s just one investment from one budget, and there are other investments like this supporting local school construction, childcare facility construction, and more.
On childcare construction, we also passed a bill this year (HB 1314) to make it easier to build early learning facilities. The demand for early learning facilities is one of the things I hear about consistently in our district. I know that too many families are waiting too long for an opening in a location that’s accessible and affordable for them. This bill will help us ramp up construction to address that shortage – which is good for working families and employers.
We also passed legislation to create a new on-the-job training pathway to becoming a teacher in Washington state. We recognize apprenticeship programs as an excellent way to learn many different jobs in our state, and expanding that to teaching will help address our teacher shortage and open up the profession for more people. (HB 1651)
We also passed HB 1167 to expand and strengthen opportunities for maritime career development in our high schools, helping meet our workforce needs and setting people up for good, family-wage jobs. With HB 1556 we removed the age restrictions that prevented younger students (age 16-18) from receiving financial support as they pursue alternative high school completion pathways, including General Educational Development (GED) programs.
In post-secondary education we also passed legislation to encourage more cities and counties to participate in the Promise Scholarship program that helps provide scholarships for students looking to complete a degree, certificate, or apprenticeship. (HB 1587)
This session, we worked hard to make sure the people of our state remain well-positioned for the jobs of the future, and the sectors that have built our state will continue to meet their workforce needs and grow our economy. If you have questions about these or any other bills that focus on creating good jobs and strengthening our economy, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.