Holler from the Hollers!

One problem is that West Virginia has a much lower college graduation rate than other states do. I’d fight for WV to publicly fund college tuition for students at public schools and universities, as NY has recently proposed. Publicly funded higher ed will produce the educated workforce we need; poverty shouldn’t be a barrier to self-improvement. But the other issue that plays into the dearth of skilled workers here is that we have a real problem with “brain drain,” where our college graduates take their degrees and go elsewhere. There will be less need to leave, though, when students aren’t struggling under mountains of student debt. Those two things together—producing more graduates, and giving them the financial option to stay—should significantly help. Although this is a radical step, it’s not an instant fix. Encouraging sustainable industries not subject to the bust-boom of energy price shocks (like fossil fuel industries are) will help, too. But we must at least begin to make some progress. And to be clear, there are some questions about who benefits the most from the NY plan, so we’ll have to be thoughtful about the legislation we develop here to be sure we give all students equal educational opportunity.

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