Phoenix — On May 5, state lawmakers approved Arizona’s 2017-18 budget. This year’s budget includes $250,000 in additional funding for Gila Community College’s (GCC) workforce development programs.

In 2000, Arizona voters approved Prop 301 to fund workforce development programs from a statewide sales tax, but GCC has never received a full share of these funds.

GCC Governing Board President, Jay Spehar, said, “I applaud LD8 Representative David Cook for securing this funding. Our taxpayers have always paid their full share of Prop 301 sales taxes but, until now, they have not received their fair share of Prop 301 funding for workforce development programs. Representative Cook took on this issue and attained equitable treatment for Gila County taxpayers and GCC students. Without his efforts, we would not have received this funding, and the GCC Governing Board is very appreciative of Representative David Cook’s hard work to obtain it.”

Workforce development funding supports job training programs at GCC, including Allied Health Care, Medical Coding and Billing, Dental Assisting, Cosmetology, Fire Science, Business Administration, Computer Science, Welding, Building Trades and others that produce workforce-ready graduates.