What’s the largest institute of secondary education in Madison? If you answered the University of Wisconsin, then you fell for the trick question. It’s actually Madison Area Technical College, which enrolls about 44,000 students annually, or roughly about 2,000 more than UW. The school, one of 16 state-funded technical colleges, offers a sound education at rates that, when compared to a conventional 4-year university, seems like a steal. Offering job training and associate’s degree training, MATC has been educating the workforce of Madison and the surrounding area for years. They have also continuously provided educational opportunities for lower-income students that may not have otherwise had a chance to go to college.
It’s not just low-income students who attend MATC. Many already in the workforce, and students from UW-Madison and other UW-system schools attend the school to fulfill prerequisites, boost their GPA or provide a little something extra on their resume. On Nov. 2, a referendum on the ballot would, if passed, supply MATC with $133 million dollars of funding to update their facilities. If we as a community care about higher education and job preparedness, then this seemingly expensive referendum is one we cannot afford not to pass.
If there’s one thing to know before trying to enroll at MATC, it’s that space is limited. I took a July to August nurse’s assistant class, for which I signed up in April, and I got one of the last available spots. On the first day of class, as many as five people came to stand in the back of the classroom, hoping someone had dropped or not showed up on the first day so they could enroll.
MATC tries to fit in as many people in a class as they can, and they run their programs filled to the maximum back-to-back all summer, fall and winter long. MATC does a good job of offering both day and night classes to support those with school, jobs or home obligations, but there’s only so much creative scheduling they can do: They’re filled to the brim because their facilities are not equipped to handle the present influx of students.
The demand for spots in the classes is only going to increase. With the economy at a seemingly constant low, people realize they need to update or revitalize their resumes. If space continues to be scarce at MATC, many may not have the chance to make themselves competitive in an ever-narrowing job market. One of MATC’s biggest training sectors, health care, is a field exploding with need for workers. Madison and surrounding counties are already understaffed for nurses, nurses’ aides, ER and pharmacy technicians and other positions. Especially as the baby boomer generation gets older, a significant increase in the number of employees needed in the health care fields is guaranteed.
Other protective services, like EMTs and firefighters, are also expanding along with the population of the Madison area, and are crucial positions that need to be filled. Allowing MATC to be under-equipped, then, is literally dangerous. Roger Price, Madison College’s vice president of Infrastructure Services, said “The questions we hear about the programs are, ‘Are we able to meet the needs providing nurses? Are we going to be able to train firefighters and protective services workers for the future?'” These are exactly the fields that one doesn’t want to have to worry that they’re understaffed.
However, $133 million dollars does seem a lot to ask, and since MATC charges tuition, one might ask why their system isn’t self-sufficient. However, MATC, just like UW-Madison, is a state-sponsored school, and it would be a joke to think such schools don’t need taxpayer help to function. Their tuition, too, is very low compared to UW, and although the quality of education is not as high as the world-ranked university, you do get an education worth your money – if you can find space, that is. Because MATC is located in 12 different counties, it’s not just Dane County that will get the burden of paying this admittedly steep tax hike. In all, it will only cost us as taxpayers an extra $33 dollars per year for what is both a valid form of education and a valuable service to the community. If we value the important jobs that MATC alumni do, then this referendum is one we can’t afford not to pass.
Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in anthropology and intending to major in Spanish.
