Haugen urges public to provide feedback at town halls on higher education

OLYMPIA – The Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) is developing a plan for meeting the higher education needs of the three-county area of Skagit, Island and Snohomish Counties. Before it can proceed, however, the board needs feedback from the public at town halls scheduled for Tuesday in Stanwood and Wednesday in Oak Harbor.

“Our area is simultaneously one of the fastest growing in the state and the most underserved by institutions of higher learning,” said Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island. “We want to fix that, but first we need to hear whether our alternatives fit people’s needs.”

Haugen, a member of the local advisory committee that is helping to shape the plans for the possible new university, urged anyone interested in the creation of an institution of higher learning to attend one of the meetings to share their experiences and offer suggestions for the new college. “These meetings aren’t just a courtesy,” she said. “We really need to know what people think.”

Haugen last year was able to secure $500,000 for a study to assess the need for a new four-year public college in north Snohomish County, which she said could serve thousands of graduating high school seniors and adults seeking a college education over the coming decades. She has pushed for a north Snohomish County site due to its access to the I-5 corridor and distance from existing four-year institutes of higher education, at a time when studies indicate the county’s population will grow from 600,000 people to 800,000 in the next two decades.

In its December 2004 Master Plan for Education, the HECB concluded that “the state is simply not producing enough job-ready graduates” and that “every public college is overenrolled.”

“Washington has not approved a new public four-year institution in 35 years,” Haugen said. “It’s high time we did, and the most urgent need for a school is in our high-growth area.”

Town halls are scheduled for:

• 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, in the multipurpose Room at Cedarhome Elementary School at 27911 68th Avenue NW in Stanwood
• 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, at the Whidbey campus of Skagit Valley College at 137 Hayes Hall in Oak Harbor

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