Proposed Jobs Act could help NC colleges

President Barack Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act could provide welcome funds for N.C. community colleges in need of repairs, but its overall effect on the state’s economy might be short-lived.

Obama presented the act to a joint session of Congress on Thursday. The act also includes tax breaks for small businesses and increased expenditures for infrastructure projects across the country.

The plan would provide $5 billion for community colleges nationwide to modernize their campuses and complete deferred maintenance projects.

Megen Hoenk, director of marketing and external affairs for the N.C. Community College system, said it would be premature to speculate about the plan’s effects on the system, but the state’s economy could benefit from the repairs.

“The road to recovery runs right through the N.C. community college system,” Hoenk said.

Aid would be distributed to community college systems based on greatest need as well as their readiness for modernization projects, said Arne Duncan, U.S. secretary of education, in a blog post last week.

North Carolina has 58 member institutions in its community college system, making it the third largest system in the country based on number of schools.

The system could receive more than $160 million to provide community colleges with facilities and equipment to meet workforce demands.

Hoenk said many of the community colleges in the system have held off on capital projects due to state funding cuts. Community colleges received a 10.7 percent cut in the state budget enacted this summer.

“We would be hopeful that any plan that puts people back to work would include us,” she said.

In Mecklenburg County, Central Piedmont Community College needs additional facilities for a growing energy and health care sector, wrote Jeff Lowrance, CPCC spokesman, in an email.

“Some of CPCC’s facilities are more than 30 years old,” he said. “These spaces need updating to meet the current demands of college instruction.”

John Stewart, a UNC economics professor, said the effects of the bill’s changes would likely be short-term.

“Basically, these are all things that most economists would say stimulate jobs in the short run but it’s sort of too small,” he said.

“It’s unlikely to make a major effect on the job situation, aside from the fact it probably won’t be passed by Congress.”

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