SCC has 6-cent levy renewal on Sept. 12 ballot

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BY PCC STAFF

WEST BURLINGTON – The Sept. 12 school election ballot will include Public Measure B from Southeastern Community College requesting voters to continue a 6-cent instructional equipment levy first passed in 2008. If approved, this levy will continue to provide $224,000 annually for modern teaching and learning technology, and classroom tools.

State legislation strictly mandates how funds may be used. Only equipment and technology directly related to teaching and instruction can be purchased. Examples include: visual and performing arts teaching tools like musical instruments, kilns and easels; health science simulators and monitors; hybrid automotive technology diagnostic tools; robotic and advanced welding stations; lab equipment for biology chemistry and anatomy labs; and computers and interactive classroom devices.

According to SCC officials, while the 6-cent levy generates over $224,000 each year, total technology and teaching resource requests exceed well over $1 million each year.

When voters first passed SCC’s levy in 2008, it was the only community college in the state to not have it in place. Area voters approved the 6-cent levy for a period of ten years, and now it is up for renewal for another ten years. The other 14 Iowa community colleges continue to have a 6-cent levy in place.

The owner of the home with an assessed value of $100,000 would continue to pay just $3.34 per year.

Southeastern Community College enrolls more than 4,000 students, including nearly 1,000 concurrently-enrolled high school students each year. Tuition at SCC is $176 per credit hour, making average tuition just over $2,100 per full-time student per semester – in the mid-range for the state’s 15 community colleges.

Over 80% of SCC students are eligible to receive some sort of financial assistance to help pay the cost of college.

Less than 3% of SCC’s operating budget comes from local property taxes. And, SCC’s total cost to local taxpayers is just over $1 per $1,000 assessed valuation.

In addition to offering transferable arts and science degrees, SCC offers career and technical degree programs in a variety of high-demand programs including accounting, agriculture, industrial technology, and welding.

In addition, SCC plays a vital role in the Great River Region by training the vast majority of healthcare workers including medical coders, medical assistants, respiratory care practitioners, paramedics, nurses, and certified nurse aides. These are some of the most expensive programs SCC offers and they benefit from equipment and technology purchased with levy funds.

SCC’s Center for Business (CBIZ) provides community education, and workforce and professional training for businesses and industries throughout the area. Over the past five years CBIZ has served over 29,000 continuing education course enrollments, and 111 local companies have received targeted training and retraining programs, resulting in the creation or strengthening of thousands of jobs.

Persons interested in learning more about the 6-cent instructional levy for Southeastern Community College, or needing help determining voting locations and times, contact Becky Rump at (319) 208-5065 or brump@scciowa.edu.

For more news or to learn about Southeastern Community College, visit: http://www.scciowa.edu/rss/news/index.html

ballot, Pen City Current, scc, Sept. 12, Southeastern Community College, tax levy

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