Regents mull ideas for economy

Some of the economic development strategies the state Board of Regents and other officials suggested at a conference Tuesday are "pie in the sky" and need a reality check, legislative leaders said.

Six groups, made up of regents and representatives of the state and higher education, offered 31 suggestions to improve Montana’s economy.

By ALLISON FARRELL
Gazette State Bureau

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/05/05/build/state/50-economy-ideas.inc

But some of those initiatives call for millions of new state dollars.

Included in the proposals is one that calls for a "social contract" with middle school students where the state would fund their college educations if the students followed through with their contractual obligations.

"There’s a lot of these proposals that need political scrutiny and financial scrutiny," said Senate President Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, in an interview after the presentations.

And the doubts run on both side of the political aisle. House Minority Whip Monica Lindeen, D-Huntley, said Montana’s economic realities could handicap the funding of the proposals.

"Obviously, the challenge will be to look at the cost of these proposals," Lindeen said. "Some of these cost a lot of money."

Another idea calls on the state to pump up to $1.5 million every two years into customized employee training for business and industry.

Yet another initiative would ask the state to fund financial aid programs for low income Montanans.

These and other proposals were revealed Tuesday as part of the "shared leadership" project the state Board of Regents initiated last year. Regents chairman John Mercer of Polson said the University System, in partnership with leaders from state government and private industry, can do much to turn the Montana economy around.

State officials expect these education initiatives to drive something of an economic turnaround in Montana, which ranks last in the nation for average wages and near the bottom for per capita income.

"To a great extent, Montana lacks a generation of good public policy ideas," Mercer said. "We’re trying to get some ideas we can agree on and push forward."

Other proposals call for the creation of a two-person office to coordinate partnerships between the University System and technology businesses in Montana and the development of coordinated distance learning technology for all campuses.

One subcommittee suggested ramping up recruitment of out-of-state students, whose higher tuition bills help subsidize the education of Montana residents. Another subcommittee said physical space for campus research, a $150 million annual business in Montana, needs to be expanded.

"If we can get a better collaboration between the private sector and the University System, then we’ll have the biggest tool in the toolbox for economic development," said Dave Gibson, head of the governor’s office of economic opportunity.

While the groups presented myriad initiatives Tuesday, the regents and other state leaders will pare the list down at their May meeting. Keenan said he would be satisfied if a half-dozen, or even one, of the 31 proposals were acted on.

"We are off to a good start," said Sheila Stearns, commissioner of higher education. "And we realize it is just a start."

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