[Newbiemouseandpoint]

http://www.azstarnet.com/public/pack...techfuture.htm

EXCERPT:

Gonzales said it is worrisome that the Legislature would consider reducing funding for education from the university level to K-12 schools, child care programs and preschools.

``The mentality of many of our legislators is to consider education a line item instead of an asset,'' he said. ``If their viewpoint is that education is government - therefore the less you spend on government the better off you are - the state loses out.''

Education level is closely tied to local economies, Gonzales said, because it determines the community's ability to attract high-tech, high-paying jobs.

Tucson recently lost a high-tech call center offering 1,000 $16-an-hour jobs, for example, because the skill level to support the center wasn't readily available in the labor pool, Gonzales said.

New Mexico, which won the deal, did so by offering $3 million more in job training funds.

Meanwhile, the Legislature is considering cutting back state job training dollars from $5 million a year to $3 million a year.

In comparison, Texas spends $108 million a year on job training, and California spends $130 million.

Adjust for population, Gonzales said, and Arizona should be spending $25 million a year to be competitive.

[Chery]

What's your opinion on this? If you have the weekend to come up with something for school, pass it by us and we will help, but I think you need to state how you feel about it first and not just some excerpts and no opinion of your own.