Do you favor a $5,000,000 bond issue for capital expenses for vocational high schools?

Because vocational schools generally do not ask for much, it is easy to overlook their important role in preparing Maine students for the workforce. But a generation and 500,000 students after these schools began, their needs are apparent and the bond request they have made is a sensible, modest plan to keep them effective. The proposal should be approved by voters June 9.

The 27 schools that make up the Secondary Vocational Education Centers and Regions try to prepare students for the workforce or further education by working closely with businesses and providing training on relevant equipment and technology. Businesses, in turn, have been generous in their contributions to the schools.

Nevertheless, budget cuts and lack of capital revenues have left the schools behind in providing the latest in technology. They need adequate equipment in marine composites, welding, lasers and automobile repair. They don’t have enough upgraded spray-paint booths or computer-controlled tools. The result is that the schools struggle to provide students with training they can immediately apply in growing Maine companies.

The bond spreads the $5 million statewide. The Presque Isle Technical Center would receive $198,000; the Midcoast School of Technology would get $675,000; United Technologies Center in Bangor would receive $246,000; Caribou Technical Center would get $838,000. The money is an important way for the schools to remain the effective centers of training.

More than 8,000 high-school students and, surprisingly, 12,000 adults take courses at the vocational schools each year. Many of the adults are retraining themselves for a new or changing workplace. All of the students are likely to stay in Maine, contributing to their communities and to the state’s economy.

Voters can contiue this valuable tradition by supporting Question 3 at the polls.