One of the cornerstones of my campaign for WCC Trustee is the need for high-wage, high demand jobs. You might ask how WCC does in this regard right now. According to data that the school provides to the US Department of Education, 56% of WCC students who received federal financial aid make more than a high school graduate six years after first enrollment.
Six years.
Also using data that WCC provides to the US Department of Education that takes into account the graduation rate of 28%, 13 out of every 100 students who enroll at WCC end up working in the fields they studied.
None of this is acceptable to me. It should not be acceptable to you or any other taxpayer in Washtenaw County. WCC’s president should not be receiving a 15% bonus for this level of performance. We fund WCC very generously, and we have a right to expect better results than these.
As a resident of Ypsilanti Township, and one who lives very close to the City of Ypsilanti, this makes me angry. Why? Because I know where these WCC students (and former students) go. They go to the townships in eastern and southern Washtenaw County, where the cost of living is lower. Unfortunately, it’s not low enough to make up for the unlivably low wages that many WCC degree and certificate programs produce.
This is a huge problem for the eastern and southern cities and townships. These residents often need and qualify for income-based services that these areas do not have the funding to deliver. The City of Ypsilanti has a taxable valuation that is 25% lower today than it was two decades ago, when adjusted for inflation.
Increasing the value of a WCC degree cannot be negotiable
Ypsilanti has already gone to its residents to ask for additional funding to pay off the disastrous Water Street project and struggles to keep adequate staffing in its police and fire departments. Despite growth in the number of taxable parcels, the taxable valuation in Ypsilanti Township is $365M lower today than it was 20 years ago, when adjusted for inflation.
The City of Saline and Scio Township also have negative growth in taxable valuations compared to their taxable valuations two decades ago. Despite their apparent prosperity, these places still suffer from the enormous losses suffered in the Great Recession.
These are the places that can no longer afford to absorb the expenses associated with residents who cannot make the economics of a WCC degree work. Nor can they (or the rest of Washtenaw County) afford to lose these residents. These are our prime age workers, and everyone who lives in Washtenaw County needs an authentic opportunity to succeed here.
Photo Credit: COD Newsroom , via Flickr
