The cost of good workers

Tuesday, Nov. 4, is a very important day in Washoe County. Not only will we have the opportunity to choose a new president, elect a person to Congress and fill several local political offices, we will also get the opportunity to help our future workforce by voting on WCSD-1. What is WCSD-1? WCSD-1 asks voters to approve a .25 percent increase in the sales tax rate and a .5 percent increase in the vehicle registration tax.

You may wonder how taxing ourselves more will help our future workforce. The answer is amazingly simple. Out of the 92 schools in the Washoe County School District, 19 are over 50 years old and nearly half are over 40 years old. A large number of students attend schools with leaky roofs, cold rooms due to outdated boilers and heating systems and inefficient windows, and classrooms that are outdated and unsafe. These schools are also facing structural problems. Some school foundations are crumbling, and often older schools are significantly lacking in the technology infrastructure available at newer schools.

Every child in Washoe County should have equal access to a quality learning environment. This requires not only an investment in resources like textbooks and teachers, but also an investment in facilities. By taxing ourselves now to correct these deficiencies, our children will have a better chance of learning the extremely necessary skills our future workforce will require.

And we will be helping our homegrown workforce learn and grow in a safe, positive manner that hopefully will help them decide to remain in our area after graduation.

During the past eight years in which I have actively pursued workforce issues in our area, I have been struck by the speed and complexity of change businesses face when training their workers. What worked in

January of this year might already be significantly advanced towards obsolescence. When I started my printing company three decades ago, I needed workers who could read and write. Today, that is simply not enough. Workers must use equipment that often did not exist a few years ago in a manner not trained in their past jobs to accomplish the goals of their organization.

School districts are expected to be current in their teaching and avant garde enough that the graduates they produce can step into the workforce and with minimal additional training, become effective and productive employees. We insist that the books and teaching tools are current to enable the districts to be successful.

But what about the buildings that house those instructors and students? Are they current? Helpful? Effective? How many of them are "Boomer Schools"? They were new when the Boomers were young, but like the Boomers they have aged and sometimes not as well as the Boomers!

Almost half of the 92 schools in Washoe County are over 40 years old. Forty years ago, Lyndon Johnson was president, Vietnam was a hot issue, hippies were upsetting society, man had yet to land on the Moon and personnel computers, cell phones, email and the internet were still experiments in laboratories. So how can we expect our children, tomorrow's workforce, to successfully learn in an environment where single-pane windows do not permit comfort in the classroom, where basics such as carpeting, heating and ventilating systems, aged roofs, lighting and outdated plumbing are the rule?

If we want better workers in our future, then these infrastructure needs must be addressed and quickly solved. The tax increase mentioned above will cost the average business a few hundred dollars more per year. The good news in the proposed tax is that is does not hit just businesses. It will tax whoever owns a vehicle registered in the county and all tourists purchasing items in our area will add to the collection because it is a broad sales tax.

Of the total money to be bonded from these increases, approximately one-third will address basic building needs such as windows, roofs, and climate systems. Another one-third will help improve the learning environment by improving lighting, replacing single pane windows with energy efficient dual panes, repainting and lab upgrades.

The final one-third will bring 21st Century technology to these older buildings. Workers are now expected to know how to function in a wireless interactive business environment and thus schools must have the same items on which children can learn and practice.

Over 90 percent of the money from these bonds will be spent with businesses and agencies in the local

area over the next seven years, thus giving a boost to many companies and perhaps helping to kick-start their recovery from a perhaps sluggish economy.

None of the money will be used for current operating expenses or for new schools. How we got into this

problem does not matter at this time. How we get out of it does. Our students need safe comfortable schools just as workers need safe comfortable workplaces. Focusing on past mistakes does not solve a problem. Forcing action starts us down the solutions path.

Our current economy is very rough for some businesses and individuals. If we wait until we think the economy has improved to pass theses taxes, we will have fallen further behind in developing a competitive workforce. We must help our children today if we are to succeed tomorrow.

Very few individuals enjoy taxing themselves. No one would enjoy the end of our economic system caused by a lack of untrained workers. We can avoid a negative economic future if we act now. Passing WCSD-1 in November will be a positive step for our region!

Tom Fitzgerald is chief executive officer of Nevadaworks. Contact him at tom@nevadaworks.com.