By Robert Walsh, Professor, Bitterroot College, Hamilton
Volunteers have recently been circulating a petition among residents of Ravalli County to gather signatures in support of a ballot issue to establish Bitterroot Valley Community College as a permanent, independent community college in Ravalli County. We believe that it is high time for the Bitterroot Valley to have an independent community college that is on par with Flathead Valley Community College and Miles Community College in Miles City. There are some good reasons for creating Bitterroot Valley Community College.
To begin, let’s face the fact that our so-called ‘Bitterroot College’ in Hamilton is not a college in any real sense of the term. It is, in fact, an affiliated outreach extension unit that exists at the sole and arbitrary discretion of the University of Montana (UM). Despite the yeomanly educational efforts of dedicated teachers and staff, ‘Bitterroot College’ is hamstrung in its educational mission. The residents of Ravalli County deserve something better.
According to the Bitterroot Valley Community College initiative website (bvcommunitycollege.org), sponsored by the Ravalli County Workforce Alliance (RCWA), the existing ‘Bitterroot College’ has zero academic authority; cannot create new academic programs or hire new instructors without UM approval; is not a recognized campus of the University of Montana; must enroll its students through Missoula College; is not allowed to recruit new students; does not grant any degrees; and its budget is an unpredictable discretionary handout from the UM Provost’s office. Bottom line: ‘Bitterroot College’ is precariously unsustainable. It has an uncertain future. It is woefully insufficient to meet the expanding workforce needs of Ravalli County.
If you want to get an idea of what the visionary folks at Ravalli County Workforce Alliance along with a coalition of local business leaders and the enlightened educators at ‘Bitterroot College’ have in mind for Ravalli County, take a quick look at what is happening at Flathead Valley Community College (www.fvcc.edu). President Jane Karas reports that “FVCC currently offers over 50 career and technical programs that prepare students to enter rewarding careers immediately following graduation.” And, Karas adds, “most of our graduates who enter the workforce stay in Montana, and the majority stay in the Flathead Valley.”
Local education meeting the needs of local workforce training is attractive to new business. And, with earned credits that transfer directly into the UM system or elsewhere, Bitterroot Valley Community College would be a low-cost jump-start to a four-year degree starting right here in Ravalli County. The Bitterroot Valley is growing. Educational opportunities for young, mature and working residents of Ravalli County must grow with it.
We need your help. As Candy Lubansky, chairperson of the Bitterroot College Advisory Council, and Tory Clark, Director of Bitterroot College, pointed out, Ravalli County voters approved a ballot measure back in May 2007 to establish a community college in Ravalli County. Unfortunately, as the result of concerted efforts at the legislative level, which at that time were against the establishment of an independent community college in the Bitterroot Valley, the will of the citizens of Ravalli County was thwarted. As a community of concerned, forward-looking citizens, we must not let that happen again.
Please sign the petition to get the proposition for the establishment of the Bitterroot Valley Community College onto the May 2020 ballot and let the voters of Ravalli County decide – once again. Stop into the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority (RCEDA) at 274 Old Corvallis Road, Hamilton to sign the petition. Or, look for volunteers at various places in the community with their clipboards and friendly smiles.
If you are a business owner and would be willing to allow us to collect signatures outside your business, please contact Julie Foster, Executive Director of RCEDA at (406) 375-9416. More information about Bitterroot Valley Community College is available at the bvcommunitycollege.org website.