KAINE Continued from pg. 16
Student debt was a concern for several roundtable participants, including J. Greer Johnson, who pointed out that students are expected to go to college, but then end up graduating with an unmanageable amount of debt and having trouble finding jobs to pay it down. “What can be done? This is a looming disaster,” Johnson said. Kaine agreed, and pointed out that young adults struggling to pay down debt affect plenty of aspects of the economy, including delaying home purchases for young professionals. One option, he said, is to try to encourage workforce training. “We’ve put too much attention on everybody having to go to college,” Kaine said. Meanwhile, many companies have to import welders, construction workers, IT (informational technology) technicians and other skilled workers because they can’t find enough qualified individuals in the states. Despite paid apprenticeships and high wages, trades are having trouble recruiting new workers. Jen Kostyniuk, who serves as Dominion’s regional manager for state and local affairs, said her company and other companies struggle with that
HUNDLEY Continued from pg. 23
solved, and noted many educators have had enough once they retire. “Many of them don’t want to go back in to the classroom,” he said. The superintendent also presented a preliminary list of goals for 2014-2015. “This is intended to reflect what we have heard you say in the past,” Wilson said. “The intent is to reflect areas of interest for you. The board goals are
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over proposed increases in the minimum wage. She said some proposals she’s heard, including increasing minimum wage to $15, could really hurt some operations. “I can’t see how smaller businesses will survive if that’s the case,” Nelson said. Kaine said there’s a Senate proposal on the table to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour incrementally, with three step increases separated by six months each. “I support that,” Kaine said. Handling the minimum wage by setting it and leaving it alone for years on end means bigger increases when increases come, he added, and more impact on businesses. Regular, recurring increases would help keep the wage realistic while allowing businesses to plan for the increased cost, he said. Kaine pointed to the example of Henry Ford, who doubled his automotive plant workers’ wages to $5 per day. Not only did that help keep employees on board, it also allowed them to afford to buy cars, which supported the business. Kaine was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. He is a member of the Senate’s Budget Committee, Armed Services Committee and Foreign Relations Committee. His wife, Anne Holton, is the Virginia Secretary of Education.
STUDENT
Keeping up Laura Sanchez of Del Solar told Kaine that while Virginia’s Small, Women-owned and Minority-owned business program, also known as SWaM, is a good idea, the certification process is long and difficult. Even though the program is designed to help smaller businesses remain competitive while vying for contracts through the state’s procurement system, she added, it can still be hard to
remain competitive. Others expressed concerns over the cost of implementing requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act. “The Affordable Care Act is not affordable for us,” Kimberly Taylor, owner of Titan Auto and Tire, said. She added that she has lost potential employees because she cannot afford to provide the level of healthcare they’re looking for from employers. Linda Bilger, who owns On The Spot, a flooring and carpet cleaning company in Powhatan, agreed. Under Virginia’s Healthcare Exchange, she said she was unable to find affordable insurance for her employees. Kaine said the struggle over healthcare reform led both sides to dig in — Democrats didn’t want to seem unsupportive by considering reform, while Republicans wanted it repealed. Now, both sides have cooled down and seem open to fixing some of the issues that have arisen. He added that, either way, 12 million Americans who previously didn’t have health insurance are now covered. “There’s still work to do,” Kaine said. “We spend more than any other county — 18 percent of our GDP — on healthcare.” Tara Nelson, who operates the Omega Learning Center in Chesterfield, expressed concern
er effective instructional services through programs like the Specialty Center, professional development and pre-school education. The list also includes special education, the delivery of online instruction and an examination of the current grading scale. Another board priority is the hiring and retention of quality educators in Hanover schools, achieved through maintaining competitive salary and working conditions. Also highlighted on the list
is a continuing evaluation program for teachers, principals and the superintendent. The goals included the board’s intent to monitor the effects of market and growth patterns that could affect capacity and efficiency at some campuses in the county. Throughout the 2014-2015 school year, the board will continue to monitor a number of capital projects in progress at numerous county campuses. “It is brought to you for your consideration. It’s just an
attempt to commit to paper what we’ve heard you talk about for the last several months,” Wilson said. The board will take action on its list of priorities later this summer after considering the draft presented at last week’s meeting. In other matters, Michael Gill was named assistant superintendent for instruction, replacing Daryl Chesley, who resigned in the spring. The board also adopted its meeting schedule for the
upcoming year, including a change in starting time for regular meetings. The public sessions will now begin at 7 p.m. Last week’s meeting also was the first for newly-appointed Mechanicsville District representative Roger Bourassa, who pledged his commitment to continuing the legacy established by his predecessor, Glenn Millican. “Everyone has been great and I’m looking forward to serving,” Bourassa said after the meeting.
issue, and pointed to the stigma associated with career and technical training. Kaine agreed, and said he is working in the Senate to help erase that stigma and funnel funding toward skill training. Right now, in Virginia, community college funding is based on the number of students who are seeking degrees there — not students who are seeking trade certificates. Military tuition benefits have similar restrictions on how beneficiaries can spend them, sending veterans toward degrees, not trade certifications. “We ought to be funding skill acquisition,” Kaine said, adding that people with career-technical training are more likely to become entrepreneurs. Carol Nitz of RichTech, an IT firm, said local officials from state-of-the-art career technical centers have told her they have trouble recruiting students — not because the kids aren’t interested, but because the parents don’t want to consider an option other than college. Attorney Sarah McCurry of Winslow & McCurry said that some young people who start to pursue higher education stop simply due to debt concerns, hampering their educational attainment and success. A paralegal at her firm finished college early and decided not to go to law school for that very reason, she said.
Another challenge facing businesses, McCurry added, is the high expectation among young people entering the job market. Some job seekers have unreasonable expectations for pay and benefits that smaller businesses simply can’t meet. “They want to start out with three weeks of paid vacation and a 401(k), and you want to say, ‘Hey, we have seven employees!’ ” she said. Kostyniuk agreed, and said some young jobseekers also don’t have the “soft skills” needed in the workplace, like talking on the phone rather than sending an email or text message. Kaine suggested that small businesses should look into hiring veterans, who come with plenty of training in appropriate behavior, teamwork and performing under pressure. “We have to make sure they know how to market that in the private sector,” Kaine said.
general. The board will provide direction for staff,” she added. The outline was general, with board action needed to fill in the blanks as the school year continues. The list reflects the board’s priorities, including the need for them to continue its role in the community as an educational leader through monitoring programs, legislative agendas and improving quality in Hanover County Public Schools. The list also outlines the board’s responsibilities to deliv-
The Mechanicsville Local
July 16, 2014
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List have attained a 3.4 or better grade point average out of a possible 4.0. Two Mechanicsville residents, James C. Jones and Heather D. Conway, recently were named to the Dean’s List at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. Jones majors in chemistry and Conway is a undeclared. To qualify for the Dean’s List, freshmen must earn a 3.25 grade point average, and upperclassmen must earn a 3.5 grade point average. The following students qualified for the President’s List at James Madison University during the spring 2014 semester: Haley Brazier of Mechanicsville, majoring in interdisciplinary liberal studies; Rebecca Cross of Mechanicsville, majoring in interdisciplinary liberal studies; Elizabeth Donnini of Mechanicsville, majoring in interdisciplinary liberal studies; Kevin Foley of Mechanicsville majoring in history; Brantley Gilbert of Mechanicsville, majoring in integrated science and technology; Kathryn Leary of Mechanicsville, majoring in communication sciences and disorders; Cameron Lindsey of Mechanicsville, majoring in see STUDENT, pg. 26