In a previous column (KPBJ October, 2009) I solicited your thoughts about what economic development strategies we should be deploying that will lead toward the kind of Kitsap future most important to you and your family.

At least one reader suggests that a focus on secondary education as an economic development stimulus should be pursued.

Paula Gooding writes…

“The time is now to advocate with the state. The federal government is primed to push community college education for retraining and helping to educate more citizens than ever. Washington State is faced with over-crowding in their four-year institutions and many state students are returning to the state from more expensive out-of-state institutions, putting even more pressure on limited resources.

“Bremerton’s outstanding location to Seattle and Olympic Peninsula makes it a prime location. And Kitsap’s outstanding transportation system is a major asset to expansion of the college.”

Paula is in good company espousing a focus on education and workforce development as a long-term economic development strategy. It has been a consistent agenda item for current and previous Washington state governors, members of Congress, the state legislature, and the business community.

Historically, the support tends to lose its steam during budget processes, never so evident as the economic environment we are in now. Higher education budgets, as with many state-funded programs, took substantial hits during the last biennial budget session. More could be on the way; when the legislature convenes in January they will need to find another $2 billion to address shortfalls.

Ironically, the economic conditions that heighten demand for training and retraining also stress our collective ability to fund it. Ditto with K-12.

Paula points out that now is the time to market Olympic College as a destination, and to help shape the academic direction of the school.

“Imagine more students in downtown Bremerton at coffee shops, grocery stores, movie theater, book shops and restaurants,” she writes. “The expansion of hotel rooms and meeting areas could be accessed by the school. A lot of different interests in the county and city would be served.”

And I would add, interests in other areas of the county as well — particularly the business community.

In late 2007 and early 2008 KEDA retained Charlotte Garrido to assess the demand for four-year degrees on the Peninsula. Her work led to a follow-on study by the Higher Education Coordinating Board, which concluded as she did that we are indeed under-serving the demand here.

During her research, 52 percent of employers said they would expand if they had access to a more educated workforce. Some 85 percent of them reported difficulty filling positions. Though economic conditions have changed since this survey was done, we can expect that economic recovery will once again result in unmet demand for an educated workforce, regionally and nationally.

There is an obvious convergence of interests — those articulated by Paula in these economic times, and those expressed by employers when opportunities abound. Although financial solutions for education aren’t easy, if we figure this one out Kitsap County will be a destination of choice for employers.