And easy as a Sunday morning, NIACC’s first bond proposal passed during the special election yesterday. The $15 million bond referendum needed to incur a 60% approval rate to claim victory. According to the Globe Gazette, 14% of the 11 counties eligible voters voted and close-to 80% of those people gave NIACC the green-light on the bond.
In Floyd County, a majority was reached by a little more than 2% – with only around 9% of the county showing up to the polls.
Now that NIACC has secured the capital, President Steve Schultz says they will use it in two main ways: workforce development and general infrastructure.
A large majority of the funding, upwards of $6.5 million, will be used for direct job training and implementing a couple regional education centers in the surrounding communities. Schultz says this will include technical education classroom updates.
But, what will it cost a resident of the 11 counties each year?
Schultz hopes this can keep NIACC on par or better than similar community colleges – but reassures locals that the ask was not a ‘Christmas list’ but instead, a ‘necessity list’.
