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The Power of QE3 In Palm Beach County, Fla. Quality Economic Development Quality Education Quality Employment Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation January 31, 2007.
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The Power of QE3In Palm Beach County, Fla. Quality Economic Development Quality Education Quality Employment Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation January 31, 2007
Power of QE3Bringing proactive coordination of economic development, education and employment to ensure a high quality workforce in Palm Beach County. • Integrating collaborative delivery of services; • Responding to business; • Resulting in careers, not jobs
Power of QE3 A Blended Strategic Plan of the Business Development Board (BDB), Education Commission (EC) and Workforce Alliance (WA) of Palm Beach County
Power of QE3 QE3 Cross Functions: • Economic Development • BDB conducts aggressive marketing campaign locally and nationally: • recruit potential business with emphasis on aerospace/engineering; agribusiness; bioscience; business and financial services; communications and information technology; and tourism, recreation, and entertainment; • retain and grow local business needs through communication with membership roster and outreach to supporting services; • WA partners with BDB to provide businesses with employment-related training programs responsive to the changing business environment. - EC ensures seamless academic system to meet workforce needs.
Power of QE3 QE3 Cross Functions: Education • EC facilitates the coordination of articulation agreements among local public and private education providers. • WA coordinates with EC and BDB to establish complementary training strategies that match trends in employment demands. • BDB utilizes EC and PACE Committee as means to maintain ongoing communication of needs and assistance. • Education institutions continue interinstitutional articulation agreements to marshal education resources that best produce the human capital needs of business and industry.
Power of QE3 QE3 Cross Functions: Employment • WA helps develop the local talent pool and provides customized employer services to meet the changing needs of a demand-driven employment market. • BDB partners assists to identify sources of training funds and in developing industry-specific training programs. • EC facilitates the data exchange of business and employment needs with education counseling and placementprograms.
Services Provided to Relocating Companies • Confidential and comprehensive • Information on available land and existing buildings • Consulting on applicable county and state incentives • Research on communication, utility and transportation service and rates • Access to labor and training programs • Introductions to local vendors and suppliers • Review of available housing and housing costs • Presentations on quality of life, recreation and cultural amenities • Introductions to Port and Airport • Guidance on local and state licensing requirements
BDB Impact 2000-2005 – Kelly Smallridge Results Jobs 16,551 Companies 159 Dev. Reg. 16 cos. IRBs 20
BDB Impact 2000-2005 Average wages $47,413 (123% of county aver.) Primary & sec. jobs 31,077 Payrolls $1.4 billion+ Building demand 3.9 million square feet
Signature Projects • Scripps Office Depot • Applied Card LRP Publications • NABI First NLC • Sources of Leads: • Enterprise Florida • State and county primary agency • Local businesses • National and International Ad Campaigns • Trade Shows
Trends and Challenges Trends: • Smaller projects, higher salaries • Downsizing in corporate headquarters, streamlining • Outsourcing of jobs • Call Centers going offshore Challenges: • Low inventory of available commercial/industrial property • Cost of land has escalated • Attainable/Workforce Housing
2007 Legislative Recommendations • Replenish the $200 Million Innovation Fund • Encourage greater research opportunities for businesses within Florida by developing a state matching grant program to provide additional dollars to businesses who participate in the Federally funded Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). • Maintain economic incentives through Enterprise Florida to match local efforts in attracting and growing businesses in Florida that fall within high needs clusters.
Workforce Alliance, Inc. is a private non-profit organization chartered by the state of Florida to create and oversee the workforce system in Palm Beach County. Our Mission is …the workforce solution driving economic growth
WORKFORCE ALLIANCE, INC. • 2005-2006 served 94,487 persons • Budget of nearly $19.5 million • Majority of our dollars are training related: • Employed Worker Training • Individual Training Programs • Professional Placement Network • Florida ReBuilds
WORKFORCE ALLIANCE, INC Partnership with Educational Community • Partner with the educational community to provide training programs and curriculum to match business needs. Current initiatives include: • Biotech Training Program: $2.3 Million • Partnering with Florida Atlantic University • Everglades Restoration Project: • Partnering with Palm Beach Community College and South Florida Water Management District • Florida ReBuilds • Partnering with Palm Beach County employers in the construction industry for skills upgrade • Work Ready • Trailblazers in the Federal Work Ready Certification Program to prepare job seekers for employers
Professional and Business Services Gains the Most Jobs in Palm Beach County(December 2005-December 2006) Source: Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Labor Market Statistics in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2007 Legislative Recommendations • Our request: $20 million in general revenue funds to align targeted training and recruitment support services for Florida businesses. The general revenue funds would consist of: • Restoration of the $12 million in general revenue funds (initially allocated for Florida reBuilds) as a recurring budget item to support three focused initiatives • Additional $8 million in non-recurring general revenue to assist with the initiatives • The training and recruitment support initiatives include: • Specific sector strategies in targeted industries (as identified by Enterprise Florida) to assist businesses with their immediate workforce needs;
2007 Legislative Recommendations • Expansion of the CHOICE initiative to link Florida’s schools with specific targeted industry employment needs and opportunities; and, • Special grants focused on evolving the skills that Florida businesses and workers need to compete globally. • All three initiatives will require private sector match and collaboration with local economic development organizations and education partners. • Additionally, we request that all TANF funds allocated to the Regional Workforce Boards retain the same multiyear budget authority as the federal funding.
Palm Beach County Education Commission QE3 the Leadership Equation Leadership Palm Beach County January 31, 2007
Palm Beach County Education CommissionVision The Education Commission is comprised of business leaders, education professionals, and interested citizens who have ONE goal: raising student achievement by improving all parts of Palm Beach County’s educational system and strengthening collective services from pre-natal programs through post secondary education and job preparation activities.
Palm Beach County Education CommissionSeamless Approach Linking disconnected social agencies, educational institutions, and job preparation organizations to each other and the people they serve to support the success of children and families in Palm Beach County birth through work.
Palm Beach County Education Commission3 Major Goal Areas • Child Readiness • Student Achievement and Learning Environment • Skilled Work Force
Collaboration The great secret of successful collaboration is this: The only agreement you have to have is on what you are all going to do. That’s it. You have to agree on actions. You don’t have to bring the visions and missions of your organizations into alignment. Usually, you don’t even have to bring your strategies into alignment. So long as you can find an operational overlap, you can forge a successful collaboration. Michael Gilbert, April 2005 A Practical Approach to Collaboration
2007 Legislative Recommendations • A. Career/Vocational Education • Consolidate 28 interinstitutional articulation agreement process into statewide agreement among school districts, community colleges and universities for dual enrollment and early entry; allow local supplemental agreements for program exceptions that are unique or of high importance to local areas; • Require update of state course code directory to include correlation of high rigor career/vocational courses to meet core content requirements; • Require all community colleges and universities to accept statewide dual enrollment credits of “C” or higher, regardless of awarding institution; • change recency of employment from 12-weeks within last 3 years to last 6 years to allow alternative teacher certification for career education instructors;
2007 Legislative Recommendations • Allow vocational-certified instructors to teach equivalent core content courses with temporary certification until passage of content area exam (e.g., Business Ed-language arts); • Restore program cost factor for middle school vocational education and reinstate higher cost factor for grades 9-12; • Restore state funding for 7th period in order to meet more rigorous graduation and major/minor counseling requirements; • Expand worker’s compensation insurance age-waiver for “Habitat for Humanity” (s.489.103, F.S.) to high school career education programs as school districts retain liability; • Extend 100% Bright Futures’ funding for Gold Seal Vocational Scholarships from current 75% level;
2007 Legislative Recommendations B. Postsecondary Vocational Education (PBCC – More recommendations under PBCC Presentation) • Waive out-of-state tuition for employees of businesses moving into Florida within a year and who need updated job training; • Provide scholarship funding on a financial needs basis for PSAV programs;
Closing Remarks Q & A
PBSD – 2007 Legislative Priorities Top Priority Issues • High School Reform and Career Academies • Assure implementation of curricular pathways for career education that provides for core course crossover credit between academic and career programs with such credit being recognized by higher education institutions; establish review of all secondary curricula for alignment to the 16 national US Department of Labor occupational clusters; • provide for statewide articulation agreements for school districts, community colleges and universities so that dual enrollment credit will transfer to all state high education institutions; • Streamline state certification requirements to assure business/industry-based professionals can be employed as career and technical education teachers;
PBSD – 2007 Legislative Priorities • Restore career education funding for middle schools and restore 1998-99 high school cost factors; reinstate funding for the 7th period day in order for students to meet the intent of A++ (HB7087) legislation passed in 2006; • Eliminate glitch that allows a student to count both a core content course and its make-up course as two credits, one core and one elective, but continue previous course accrual wherein a student may retake a failed or D-graded core course and get a single credit for the one with the higher passing grade; and • Remove worker’s compensation barrier precluding high school students from interning in certain industries, such as construction, and allow a school district-based responsibility, e.g., the current exception for Habitat for Humanity.
PBSD – 2007 Legislative Priorities School Construction Costs • Continue the increase in the current per pupil station caps for school construction costs to reflect real market cost increases in steel and labor; • Revise the state’s “Classrooms First” formula to become FTE-based so that constitutional class size space requirements can be met in all school districts; • Fund costs for constructing or retrofitting schools as hurricane shelters which require portable power, potable water and increased protection against higher windspeeds; and • Restore use of local two-mill capital funds for district vehicles, operating system computer software purchases and leases, and property/casualty insurance.
PBSD – 2007 Legislative Priorities • Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) • Fully fund fifth year of Class Size Reduction (CSR) in addition to new funds to meet student enrollment growth, fixed and inflationary cost increases, and flexibility to meet local needs including salary increases; • Revise the Florida Price Level Index ratio to reflect the higher cost of living, particularly housing, insurance and transportation costs in Palm Beach County, South Florida and the Treasure Coastinto an equitable formula based on a fully independent study of the Florida Price Level Index and a look at moving toward regional cost differentials; • Oppose any further use of state funds to equalize local discretionary millage for operating or school construction until there is taxpayer equity among counties, i.e., local taxpayers are assessed similar dollars per FTE among the 67 counties;
PBSD – 2007 Legislative Priorities • Combine local discretionary millages back into a single .75-mill rate, capped at whatever district raises the most funds per FTE plus 5%; • Modify Exceptional Student Education Guarantee into a five-level cost-factored program in lieu of a block grant so that ESE services receive the same cost increases as the basic student; • Double state funding for safe schools to meet security and prevention mandates ($7 million increase for PBSD); • Maintain and fully fund Transportation and Instructional Materials as categorical programs;
PBSD – 2007 Legislative Priorities • Calculate district CSR progress based on third (October) and fourth (February) FTE to give a better comparison of actual students and to give districts adequate time to make any adjustments; and • Abolish the 1998 block grant for adult basic and GED education and reinstate funding on an FTE-generated formula tied to the Base Student Allocation.
PBSD – 2007 Legislative Priorities HB1877, Background Checks • Refile and pass HB7117 (2006) that clarified the conditions and procedures associated with the 2005 Jessica Lunsford Act (HB1877) that better defined school grounds and focused on those contracted individuals who are both on school grounds and have direct contact with students during school hours.
PBSD – 2007 Legislative Priorities Unfunded Mandates • New Mandates: Oppose any unfunded mandates or mandates where money would be taken from other existing programs; • Existing Mandates: Provide full funding for existing mandates such as: • the cost of building or modifying public schools as emergency shelters when designated by the state; • The cost of implementing curriculum and monitoring student progress In programs such as Just Read Florida!, African and African-American studies and the Holocaust; • The cost of student transportation, especially to meet legislative intent for school choice; and • Instances when state and federal funds do not cover mandated services for exceptional student education (ESE) pupils and local revenues must be used to make up the difference.