Daudt, Rarick focus on early childhood ed, funding at PTCC

Minnesota Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt and Rep. Jason Rarick made a stop at Pine Technical & Community College during a recent tour of the region.

Pine Technical & Community College Dean of Students led the Representatives on a tour of the college, providing them an opportunity to see how legislative funding through HEAPR and leveraged equipment funds has an impact on student learning.

Following the tour, the pair met with PTCC students, faculty and staff for a listening session. While funding for the college continued to be a focus of the listening session, conversation started with funding for education at a much earlier age.

Funding $100 million for early childhood education was one of a top accomplishment for Daudt. “I’m proudest of the work we’ve done there. My goal is to fund scholarships for every student living in poverty,” he said.

Annette Weaver, professional development support coordinator for Child Care Aware, expressed her gratitude, as children in the region will be recipients of some of those scholarships. She also expressed concern about regional early childhood education providers’ ability to access the training needed to achieve a three star Parent Aware rating. “If we could get that deadline extended by even a year, would be a help,” Weaver said.

Turning back to funding for the college and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, Daudt thanked the faculty and staff for their work in preparing the workforce. “We have employers that have positions they can’t fill. We funded MnSCU because of the innovation ways you’ve found to meet employer needs,” he said.