I rise to honor the fine public officials, the dedicated educators and the wonderful citizens of my great state who today are celebrating the official opening of the new College of Western Idaho.
It is the first community college in the Treasure Valley, the state’s largest metropolitan area. The school officially opens today after nearly two years of bipartisan, grassroots efforts by those with a vision of providing educational opportunity and workforce training to students of all ages and backgrounds.
Idaho has seen an economic boom over the last two decades, but the last year has been hard. Layoffs and closures leave Idaho with a higher increase in its unemployment rate than any other state in the country. People who want nothing more than the opportunity to work are sitting at home, growing increasingly desperate.
But today there is hope. Almost 900 students are enrolled for the first day of classes at the College of Western Idaho, many of them displaced workers who are taking advantage of federal assistance to train for a new career. Others are there to prepare for transition to a baccalaureate program. And some are there simply to acquire basic skills to help them provide a better life for their children.
The vision of the College of Western Idaho is to become a valued community asset, enhancing lives, learning and prosperity. They want all students to receive a quality education through a variety of platforms and locations, to better serve the community and to make sure students can learn where they live. The founding board and this community believe, as do we all, that education is about building for the future.
There is no better form of economic development and community enhancement than an educated citizenry. That is why I rise today with pride to commend my constituents, and to join them in welcoming the College of Western Idaho to our educational system and to our state. I ask that members of this 111th Congress join with me to wish the administrators, staff and students every success for many years to come.
Minnick commends College of Western Idaho
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