ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160061
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: HARRY C. NICKENS
GOV. GEORGE Allen's statesmanship during the past session of the General Assembly allowed for the development of a 1996-98 biennium budget that bodes well for most all Virginians. By his working with the elected assembly, all of us were winners. I respectfully question, however, in one area, his lack of consistency and fair play.
In the current budget, Allen accepted the inclusion of $250,000 from the Economic Contingent Fund to assist the city of Buena Vista in retaining a major employer, Southern Virginia College. Also, his 1996-97 budget, as submitted to the assembly, included $200,000 for Southern Virginia College out of the same economic-development fund. While I applaud this action, I fail to understand why similar treatment for the city of Roanoke to retain a major employer, the College of Health Sciences, was not acceptable. In the governor's memorandum to the members of the Assembly, he stated that ``neither of these expenditures [the other being for Rusco in Roanoke County] can be justified on economic-development grounds. We should guard against diverting limited resources which could otherwise be leveraged to create much more significant investment and many more new jobs.''
May I suggest that the money for the College of Health Sciences is a ``significant investment and many more new jobs'' are filled. Since 90 pecent of our students come from 19 federally designated Medically Underserved counties in Western Virginia with 85 percent going back home to practice at salaries in excess of $25,000, we are a major educational, economic-development and quality-of-life ``business.'' Without the college, there would be 600 fewer students enrolled in higher education in Western Virginia, and no physician-assistant program in the commonwealth. Medically underserved areas in Western Virginia would be even more so.
Persons from Grundy, Rich Creek or St. Paul rarely, if ever, see the investment of commonwealth dollars in new plant locations. Residents of these and other areas of Western Virginia have limited educational and career opportunities. Employment in these areas with hourly wages in excess of $12.50 per hour (the average for our graduates) are rare. Without the college affording the region an opportunity to ``grow our own'' respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, physician assistants, etc., the disparity in health-service delivery would be even greater in Western Virginia.
The Feb. 18 report of the Subcommittee on Economic Development and Natural Resources for the Senate Finance Committee states:
``[H]igher education plays an important role in economic development by providing skilled labor for employees ... '' and ``new spending [should] also take into account regional needs ....''
I do not know of any other regionally focused educational and economic-development impetus that can contribute more to the quality of life for Western Virginians than the College of Health Sciences. The ripple effect of the investment from the commonwealth would pay dividends, including reducing the cost of medical care, for decades to come.
I know the governor's responsibilities are onerous. I would have hoped, given that he exercised only two money specific line-item vetoes, that a courtesy contact with me by the governor's staff would have been made. Possibly, with more information, his decision would have been consistent with his previous good efforts.
Knowing of the important impact that this college has on Western Virginia, and sensing his objection was more the source of funds rather than the merit of the request, what alternative sources of state funding might he suggest? I would be delighted to explore these with the governor's staff.
Harry C. Nickens is president of the College of Health Sciences in Roanoke. This is adapted from a letter to Gov. George Allen.
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