Legislature Funds Support Community College Students

On March 10, the Washington State Legislature adjourned its 2022 session and South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) extends our gratitude to our legislators for the historic, bipartisan investments that they made to support community and technical college students.

District 2
Rep. Andrew Barkis
Rep. J.T. Wilcox
Sen. Jim McCune

District 20
Rep. Peter Abbarno
Rep. Ed Orcutt
Sen. John Braun

District 22
Rep. Jessica Bateman
Rep. Laurie Dolan
Sen. Sam Hunt

District 35
Rep. Dan Griffey
Rep. Drew MacEwen
Sen. Tim Sheldon

These legislators were fundamental in passing legislation and budgets that will provide funding to assist homeless students, expand cybersecurity and nursing education, and increase the college’s ability to do effective outreach in historically underrepresented communities.

“We are delighted the Legislature recognizes that our community colleges will play a key role in our state’s pandemic recovery and future workforce development,” said SPSCC President Dr. Timothy Stokes. “These investments will make a positive difference in our students’ ability to earn the degree or credential that is imperative to a living-wage career.”

As one of four Washington community colleges to receive the Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness (SSEH) pilot program grant in 2019, SPSCC is pleased that funding will be expanded by $2.9 million to serve community and technical colleges statewide.

The Legislature also expanded funding for cybersecurity and network administration programs by $7.2 million. Currently the fifth-highest enrolled program at SPSCC, this funding will allow SPSCC to serve even more students and will result in skilled graduates ready to fill a high-demand workforce need in Washington State.

With the Legislature’s investment in nursing education ($3.8 million), healthcare simulation lab equipment ($8 million), and workforce opportunity grants ($8 million), more SPSCC graduates will also be prepared to fill critical roles in our healthcare system. SPSCC is currently in the process of remodeling the Dr. Angela Bowen Center for Health Education to accommodate growing programs such as nursing and medical assisting.