Chamber Commends Legislators for JTED Funding Restoration

Yet another Tucson Metro Chamber advocacy effort on the part of our state’s Joint Technical Education District (JTED) program and the students the program serves has met with success.

On Thursday, February 18, the Arizona House and Senate voted 87-0 to restore $29 million of the $30 million the legislature cut from JTED funding in the 2015 session.

This vote is a decisive victory for Arizona students and for employers who badly need the skill sets taught in JTED programs.  Ninety-eight percent of JTED students graduate from high school.  They are ready for higher education or a career.

The Tucson Metro Chamber has been a consistent and vocal supporter of the JTED program.  The Chamber called these cuts into question when the 2015 legislature approved them and have lobbied tirelessly for the restoration of these funds ever since.

The Chamber was also successful in getting language changed in the statutes governing JTED facilities to allow the JTED program to use facilities it does not also own.

The Tucson Metro Chamber continues to advocate for increases in funding for JTED to enable high school freshmen to access the program.  Currently a student must be at least a sophomore to do so.

To view the Tucson Metro Chamber’s 2016 Legislative Agenda, click here.

Sincerely,

Michael V. Varney
President & CEO