IHCC has positive impact in Jefferson County

As a longtime member of the Fairfield community, I know the positive economic impact Indian Hills Community College has in Jefferson County. Indian Hills has been an integral member of our region for more than 50 years and now it’s our turn to support the college.

Indian Hills serves as a catalyst to promote new job creation in southern Iowa and works collaboratively with local employers to meet the needs of business and industry here in Jefferson County. The college works closely with Cambridge Investments, Agri-Industrial Plastics, Jefferson County Health Center, and many others to train new and retrain existing members of the workforce.

Indian Hills has trained many health care, education, advanced manufacturing, information technology and transportation workers employed at businesses right here in Jefferson County. In fact, 86% of all Indian Hills graduates live within the 10-county region and contribute back to our local economy. You would be hard pressed to find a person or family in Jefferson County who has not been positively impacted by the college.

Annually, Indian Hills trains 10,000 credit and non-credit students, including more than 2,000 concurrently enrolled high school students. During the 2019-20 academic year, Indian Hills provided 29,552 concurrent enrollment credits to 2,176 students in the 10-county region. That saved students and families of southern Iowa more than $5.3 million in Indian Hills tuition, or the equivalent of $9.4 million in Iowa Regent University tuition.

The last Indian Hills bond referendum was passed in 1983. It is once again time for the people of our 10-county area to invest in the future of Indian Hills and of our region.

Please join me in casting a “yes” vote for the Indian Hills bond levy on Nov. 2, 2021, or by absentee ballot prior to Election Day. The bond levy is a nominal contribution when you consider the great benefit our community college provides for our region. These projects will ensure that Indian Hills can continue to offer low-cost, high-quality post-secondary education opportunities to thousands of Southern Iowa residents now and into the future.

David Neff

Fairfield

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