Governor visits Chadron State College on Monday

Heineman said Chadron State and the other state colleges will receive an additional 8.9 percent in state funding during the fiscal year beginning July 1 and 6.7 percent the following year.

He said the increases are a significant departure from recent years when the emphasis was on cuts. He said those budget reductions have been “hard felt” in higher education across the state, but added, “This year we have targeted investments for future growth.”

Chadron State also will receive $2.6 million to renovate Sparks Hall into the college’s administrative headquarters. Constructed in 1914 when the college was just three years old, the red brick structure has been used for apartments many years. Now that the funding has been approved, architects will begin the design and development phase. It is anticipated that construction bids will be received in early 2006.

Heineman said the renovation will free space in the Administration Building, where most of the administrative offices are now located, for academic uses. He added that if Nebraska’s economic picture continues to improve, the state may have funds available for further renovation of the Administration Building.

“In a broader sense, the investment this budget makes in higher education will reverberate throughout the state,” Heineman said.

The governor also said he expects Nebraska’s higher education institutions to play a significant role in the $15 million “Nebraska Advantage” job creation package that was approved by the Legislature. He said the economic development efforts addresses both small and large businesses and small and large communities across the state, and could add 57,000 jobs in Nebraska during the next eight years, according to the UNL Bureau of Business Research.

“We cannot ignore the link between education and the economic vitality of our state,”

Heineman said. “We cannot continue to educate the best workers in the world and then export them to other states. That is why I am so pleased that higher education is embracing its role in economic development. If we are to grow the enrollment of Chadron State College, we must work together to grow the economies of Chadron and western Nebraska. If you want to grow the economies of Chadron and western Nebraska we must maintain a strong and viable Chadron State College.”

Heineman was accompanied by LeRoy Louden of Ellsworth, the state senator from the 49th District. Louden noted that late in the session a bill he sponsored that allows social security recipients to also receive full unemployment benefits was signed by the governor.

Both Louden and Dr. John Gamby, the mayor of Chadron, commended Heineman for his efforts to strike down LB 126, which will force Class I school districts to merge with K-12 districts. The governor vetoed the measure, but the Legislature overrode the veto.

Shortly after becoming governor in January, Heineman visited two Class I schools in Dawes County. He said those visits helped him determine that consolidation was not necessary for the students to receive a good education.

The governor also said, “It always works better in our state, and I suspect in any state, if we have a voluntary consolidation of school districts rather than mandatory. Our communities are much more united under those circumstances.”

Heineman added it will cost approximately $1 million a year to implement the change while the whole idea was to save money.

Gamby expressed hope that rural residents will become involved in the governance of the K-12 districts that will now encompass their property.

Both Louden and Gamby also praised the governor for selecting Chimney Rock for the Nebraska quarter that will be minted in 2006. After leaving Chadron, Heineman went to Bayard to help that community celebrate the Chimney Rock choice.