Back in December, Gov. Peter Shumlin spoke to the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce and outlined his priorities for Vermont in the coming years.
To Shumlin, Vermont needs three things to be competitive in a global economy: improved broadband Internet access, a more-streamlined and less-expensive health-care system, and more investment in education.
“If we get it right on these three things, we win, the other states lose, and we get the jobs,” said Shumlin.
He most enthused about education, saying that Vermont needs to be “the education state,” and that education is the key to closing the gap “between the job creators who have work, and the Vermonters who need jobs.”
Shumlin stressed that “income follows educational achievement,” and that the more education and job skills a person has, the more likely that person is to be employed and earning a decent living in a good job.
That's why the governor's proposal to create a consolidated Community College of Vermont/Vermont Technical Center academic center in downtown Brattleboro is so exciting.
It is a once-in-a-generation idea that could transform the town in so many ways. It would be the first significant state college facility in southern Vermont, and it would allow CCV and Vermont Tech to expand their offerings to area students of all ages.
The Marlboro College Graduate Center has given Brattleboro a taste of the transformative effects of having a first-rate educational institution near its downtown.
Now, imagine having hundreds of additional students in downtown Brattleboro throughout the day. This influx would have a huge impact on stores and eateries, boosting existing businesses and creating markets for new ones.
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There are several suitable spaces available around town, but the ideal place to locate the CCV/Vermont Tech complex would be the Brooks House. As the biggest building on Main Street recovers from last year's fire, it will need a stable tenant.
Creating an academic center in the Brooks House would provide a perfect complement to the art studios and gallery space that have also been envisioned for the site.
As has been the case with recently opened downtown CCV campuses in Winooski and Rutland, the CCV/Vermont Tech complex would also provide a creative spark for Brattleboro.
Brattleboro has often been called a college town without a college. That derisively glib turn of phrase overlooks SIT/World Learning and the Vermont Agricultural Business Education Center - home to Union Institute, the University of Vermont Extension, and Vermont Tech's Thompson/Brattleboro nursing program. But these institutions are on the edges of town and often overlooked by area residents.
A robust CCV/Vermont Tech program on Main Street would be hard to ignore and would make Brattleboro - and its historic commercial district - as much of an education town as it is an arts town.
There is no guarantee this will happen, and many obstacles lie ahead, particularly with state funding. But the town, its residents, its business community, and the other academic institutions in the region should seize this concept as a key part of Shumlin's plan to win the economic future for Vermont.