Whitmer pushes free community college plan at Livonia career tech center

Livonia — Michigan could be the first state in the nation to make preschool through community college free if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can convince state lawmakers to approve her plan as part of the state budget this summer.

"If we can say Michigan is the first place in the country that says from four years until 20 we are going to educate people with the best skills without them having to take on debt, it will send a message to the rest of the world, to the economy, and to potential employers that this is the place you want to be," Whitmer said on Wednesday after she toured the Livonia Career and Technical Center and met with students there.

Whitmer is proposing that community college be tuition-free for every high school graduate. The move would save students an average of $4,000 while they earn an associate’s degree or skills certificate at a community college, her staff says, and help them land a better-paying, high-skill job.

The investment would be part of Whitmer's Sixty by 30 goal, which is to have 60% of working-age adults earn a postsecondary education by 2030. The community college guarantee is not part of the House's proposed budget, Whitmer acknowledged, saying she is confident she can negotiate with the Legislature.

"This is a really important investment, no matter what side of the aisle you are on or what side of the state you live on," Whitmer said. "Paths to skills are crucial to be able to make a living in this economy."

High school students at the Livonia tech center told Whitmer about their focus on robotics, sports medicine and auto repair and how some of them planned to attend community college, a four-year university or seek work after earning their credential.

Alexia Guldner, a student at the tech center in the advanced medicine course, told Whitmer she wants to be an emergency medical technician and plans to attend Schoolcraft College after she graduates this spring. Principal Lindsay Gray said students can take pre- and advanced-medicine courses at the tech center and can enter the workforce after high school.

"A lot of our students do want to go to college, but it's expensive, so they have certifications that allow them to work in entry level jobs and work their way through college," Gray said.

Glenn Cerny, president of Schoolcraft College, who was part of the tour with Whitmer and other leaders, said community colleges are the great equalizer for all workers.

"We get people and we bring them in wherever they are and then we take them to whatever level they want to go," Cerny said. "We are very diversified...across the board it is an amazing collection of individuals accomplishing very major things."

Cerny said community college is a partnership with businesses to ensure the workforce is skilled. About 75% of students at his college are part-time students.

"We do not want to be a loser state, we want to be a gaining state," Cerny said in terms of businesses locating in Michigan, "The important piece about that is eliminating barriers. Today is about eliminating financial barriers and its about eliminating any impediments."

Parent Jamie Allen is a parent of a senior at Livonia Public Schools who is also a career tech student in hospitality. Allen also has a daughter who just graduated from Schoolcraft College after two years of study, obtaining scholarships and working two part-time jobs.

"We, like many families in this area and statewide, we were not able to hand her the money to continue her education. She knew she had to work for that," Allen said of her college graduate. "The initiative the governor is working toward for would help students, it would help our family, it will help future families to get their kids where they need to be. Education is truly a gift."

jchambers@detroitnews.com