Referred Question 1
Arkansas Higher Education Technology and Facility Improvement Act

Talking Points – News Conference
Monday, October 30, 2006, 10:30 a.m.
The Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County

Arkansas has traditionally spent far less than neighboring states on its education facilities, contributing to our ranking of 49th in the nation in per-capita income and in the percentage of citizens with bachelor degrees.

This puts our people at a tremendous disadvantage when competing against workers from all over the world, workers whose educational opportunities are rapidly improving.

While this is a statewide problem, it is even more so in Arkansas’ less affluent Delta cities like Pine Bluff.
To be competitive at the global level, Arkansans, particularly Pine Bluffians, must be determined to support and improve our institutions of higher education.

A “yes” vote for Referred Question 1, the Arkansas Higher Education Technology and Facility Improvement Act, is a vote to support and improve our colleges and universities.

The act, when approved, authorizes the State of Arkansas…without any new taxes…to issue $250 million in bonds, $100 million for restructuring the existing bond debt and $150 million to finance technology and facility upgrades at two year colleges like SEARK and universities like UAPB.

$7 million of that money will come to UAPB and SEARK.

I don’t want anyone to miss the forest for the trees, though. This is more than just about education. It’s about quality of life. The more and better education people have, the more income they will earn. That certainly improves their own quality of life. But, they will also spend that money in the community, supporting local businesses, attracting new businesses and creating a self-perpetuating improvement and contribution to everyone’s quality of life.

While improved education is not the only way to advance our quality of life in Arkansas and in Pine Bluff, it certainly is critical to our success. As such, I ask all Pine Bluffians to vote “yes” on Referred Question 1.