Rob O?Brian, guest columnist: Building better schools will attract new jobs

JOPLIN, Mo. ? It?s an election year, and everyone from local government candidates to presidential candidates is talking about creating better jobs. But for us in Joplin there is only one vote that will bring better jobs over the long term, and that is a vote for the Joplin schools.

Right now our metropolitan area unemployment is 6.5 percent and, as usual, we are below the state and national numbers. We have nearly 82,000 people in jobs, close to the most people we have ever had employed.

However, as the population continues to grow in our area, we still have too many people looking for work. The irony is that our companies have hundreds of jobs ? good-paying jobs ? in manufacturing, trucking, medical care and every other sector that go unfilled because they can?t find people with the right skills. ?

We are not the only place that has this dilemma. The disconnect between the available jobs and people with skills to take those jobs is a national issue. A big part of the issue is that many of the available jobs don?t require a four-year college degree, but they do require a solid high school education and some level of job training. The communities that can address that issue are the places that will attract and keep quality jobs. We can be one of those places.

Long before the tornado, Joplin schools? leadership and staff were discussing how to give students a better education that included an opportunity to try some career ideas before they graduated. This career path approach isn?t about locking students into one path. Instead, it gives students the opportunity to explore options that will help them make better decisions about their futures, while giving them real job-related skills. Whether a student wants to go on to college and needs part-time work or head straight to a full-time job, he or she will have better-paying career options.

Long before the tornado, the high school was substantially overcrowded. Expanding the old high school was desperately needed. Now that school is gone. Insurance and federal disaster programs only pay to put back the status quo, as many of our residents and businesses already know.

So, to have a larger high school that meets the needs of the larger student population, we must have local support. Tornado or not, we need a larger high school. Building the new high school with a more modern, flexible design will allow educators to meet changing career education needs. Also, a facility with greater energy efficiency is much less costly to us taxpayers over the long term than rebuilding a bigger version of the brick box school we had before.

Now, the Joplin School District did not make the decision to use career-path education, and a high school designed for that type of learning, all by itself. Hundreds of our fellow citizens have been engaged in the discussion. Most importantly, the discussion includes business people, from all sectors, who have studied the concepts, provided input and strongly support the school?s direction. These businesses are excited by and committed to providing learning opportunities for the students during their school years, not to mention the hiring opportunities after graduation.

This education approach helps our local businesses be successful, in turn keeping the good jobs we already have.

It also helps in recruiting new companies. Having an educated, skilled work force is the No. 1 item examined by companies seeking a new location. A school district that is delivering a solid basic education, plus the opportunity for students to get career skills, is something the best companies with the best job opportunities try to find.

Right now, the entire nation continues to watch Joplin. We have an opportunity to get national recognition by setting a new path for our children?s education ? no longer would they just be getting by. Tuesday?s vote will be noticed and it will be a signal to companies around the country about how serious we are about educating our children, continuing rebuilding efforts and supporting good businesses.

Today, and for the foreseeable future, keeping, growing and attracting good companies that will provide quality jobs for our children and grandchildren (and us) is all about having the best education system we can afford. We can afford to do it ? we can?t afford not to do it.?? ?

Rob O?Brian is the president of the? Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce.????

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