Do you favor a $26,420,000 bond issue for infrastructure improvements at Maine’s 7 technical colleges that must be matched by at least $7,000,000 of private or in-kind donations?

Maine’s technical college system is coming to voters for the first time in 10 years to improve buildings on the seven campuses that stretch from Wells to Presque Isle. These technical colleges have 5,300 students enrolled in degree programs, another 15,000 taking continuing education courses and the potential to educate thousands more. A yes vote Tuesday is one of the best investments Maine could make.

The bond request, large as it is, is a small portion of the amount of money needed. President of the technical college system, John Fitzsimmons, estimates that the colleges need almost $60 million in repairs and expansion. Among the central and northern campuses, Eastern Maine Technical College in Bangor needs a new technology resource center, Presque Isle a multi-media learning center, Calais new classrooms for a new physical and occupational therapy major.

Maine’s primary educational system has been consistently ranked as one of the best in the nation. However, our state is 47th in the percent of the population enrolled in college. One reason: The costs of college are substantial for a significant portion of Maine families.

The current tuition at the technical colleges for Maine residents is $68 a credit hour, which means most courses cost about $204 a semester, and a full course load is $2,040 a year. For the sake of comparison, The University of Maine charges residents $129 a credit hour; Bowdoin is more than $800 a credit hour.

Seventy-seven percent of the technical college students have family incomes of less than $15,000. Ninety-four percent of graduates find employment or go on to baccalaureate programs and the chance for rewarding careers. It is an educational value that’s hard to beat.

One might argue that some of the needed money should come from increasing tuition, and although the Maine system is the lowest of all the New England technical colleges, it is still well above the national average of $45 a credit hour. It is one reason that the system has made keeping tuition at its current level a priority.

And so they should. This is a blue-collar entrance to higher education. Starting this fall, the technical colleges now offer an two-year, associate of arts degree in liberal arts that will allow students to transfer to the University of Maine System with two years of credits. For all those young adults who wanted to go on to college after high school but couldn’t afford it and now have a family and can’t afford not to, this is the a low cost way into careers with good futures.

There is no more important vote for the future of Maine business development than this bond issue. Let’s give our children additional opportunities to find well-paying and satisfying careers in Maine. Don’t take the lack of opposition for granted, your yes vote counts.