Letter | HGTC president: South Carolina bond bill is an investment in education and business
Anyone who has ever worked at Horry Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) will tell you this college is efficient. That’s why tuition here is among the most affordable in the state. The payoff for you is a good job that pays many times more than students paid in college tuition. That’s why the state bond bill up for debate this week in the S.C. General Assembly is so important.
Four colleges in the Florence-Myrtle Beach media market stand to benefit from the $236 million bond bill: Coastal Carolina University, Horry Georgetown Technical College, Florence-Darlington Technical College and Francis Marion University.
In fact, of that $236 million proposed in the bond bill, all but $15 million will go toward higher education to enhance job training for local citizens. These are not new projects springing from a bond bill opportunity. These projects have been reviewed and approved through higher education groups, legislative committees and all other state processes.
Here’s what’s at stake for HGTC and CCU:
-$4.2 million for an advanced manufacturing center at HGTC in Georgetown
-$3.6 million for equipment and infrastructure to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and allied health programs at HGTC
-$7.5 million for a science building at Coastal Carolina University
More manufacturing jobs are coming into South Carolina and into Horry and Georgetown counties because state and local economic developers are at the top of their game in industrial recruitment. Other states ranked ahead of us for many years, but South Carolina has advanced its reputation recently as the best place to do business.
For industries creating those jobs to prosper, they must have highly trained technicians and managers to work. And that’s where HGTC helps.
As suppliers for Boeing and other new industries enter our market, they’ll seek and hire our graduates in advanced welding, machine tool (CNC), robotics, engineering technology and mechatronics.
Those employees will all require heath care. HGTC’s nursing graduates and medical technicians will step up to provide it, working with local doctors and medical centers. Those employees will also patronize local restaurants - who are likely to hire our culinary graduates - and the domino effect continues in job creation for graduates of other programs.
To sustain our position as one of the best states for attracting business and industry, we must offer the infrastructure that supports it. Thanks to local support, HGTC has succeeded in developing new programs to fit the needs of a variety of industries.
Now that our economy is emerging from bad times, technology holds the key to prosperity—if our technical colleges and universities can compete with those in other states to provide graduates with advanced skills. Issuing bond bills has been the only effective way for the state to raise capital funds. The only other way would be to raise state taxes.
Like most other newspaper readers, I prefer letting investors bet on our growth instead of raising taxes. This bond bill is necessary to sustain South Carolina’s position as a good place to invest. And that makes our state a good place for you to invest your future.
We often hear critics say that higher education needs to be run like a business. I agree. It’s common for business and industry to borrow funds to support growth. That is exactly what this bond bill does. Without adequate funds for growth, South Carolina will risk losing its current status as one of the top sites for job creation.
Please urge your legislators to invest in the bond bill. Jobs created as a result of it will generate state revenue without raising taxes and create even more jobs to support an advanced workforce. Passage of this bond bill will be a boon to all South Carolinians, who will, in turn, have stronger prospects for better jobs in the future.
The writer is president of Horry Georgetown Technical College.
This story was originally published May 4, 2015 at 8:17 AM with the headline "Letter | HGTC president: South Carolina bond bill is an investment in education and business."