Sen. Moreno: JVS tour sparks idea for new trade school legislation

PITTSFIELD TWP. — Sen. Bernie Moreno said what he heard during a tour of the Lorain County Joint Vocational School on Friday inspired him to propose a new piece of federal legislation. Moreno, who moved to Lorain County in December, announced the idea for the new bill after the tour, during a meeting with JVS staff and representatives from community business partners. He said he would put forward legislation incentivizing businesses to donate used equipment to trade schools by offering them a tax credit for 50 percent of the hardware's original value. "You have got to give companies incentives, because otherwise they'll be like 'Eh, you know, it is too much work,' but that could be something we could do," Moreno said. "... It may not be the latest, latest, latest, but you are also teaching high school kids, right? So it has to be updated equipment, but it doesn't have to be the most bleeding edge piece of equipment on the planet because, again, for teaching high school kids, if you have them with recently new stuff, I think you are in great shape." Moreno, R-Avon, said the idea was inspired by the work he saw students doing on things like CNC machines and robotic arms, as well as by the words of LCJVS Superintendent Glenn Faircloth. During the meeting, Faircloth lamented the cost and difficulty of acquiring the latest technology for students to work on. "Luckily for us, we have great partners who give us all sorts of equipment that they donate and things of that nature," Faircloth said. "Now that is their older equipment, which we are appreciative of, but we want to be able to go at the same speed, or closer to the speed that the workforce needs. And that is always a money issue, the demand is obviously there." Moreno confirmed after the meeting that he had not come to the JVS on Friday with any such legislation in mind, saying that he felt the idea was an example of why community visits were important to him. "It was 100 percent driven by that (the visit)," Moreno said. "That is the value of going out all over Ohio. It is not political, because I only have one more campaign and then I am done. It is really about what is actually happening on the ground and how can we be helpful. You get ideas from just talking to people and seeing it, rather than being in a bubble in D.C." Referencing another issue which he said was important to him, Moreno spoke about rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technology, saying it would change both the jobs that the JVS prepares students for, and the market for such jobs. Moreno said that it appeared to him that "white collar" jobs which students have been pushed toward in recent decades would be harder hit than more traditional, labor intensive work, which would drive up demand for services like the JVS. "Whatever you think you need, I promise you it is going to be a lot more," he said. "You have been going through a period of time of about 25 years where there was just this normal cycle, it is about to hit turbo. We are going to need to encourage a lot more kids to go into these educational paths." On the tour itself, Moreno met students and teachers in various school labs, including the Career Readiness lab, welding shop, robotics laboratory, machinist shop and mechanic's garage. JVS Principal Megan Champagne led the tour and explained how the school places students in the workforce in various local fields prior to their graduation as a part of the curriculum. Mario Codispoti, JVS communications director, said that in addition to these Career Tech programs for juniors and seniors, the JVS offers a Career Readiness program for underclassmen, which he said is the only one of its kind in Lorain County. "The earlier we can get them started on things like being on time, organization, preparation and those sort of soft skills, the more prepared they will be for their careers," Codispoti said. "Becasue of that, our workforce placement has been through the roof. Not just after graduation, but while they are still in school. We do not have a talent crisis in Lorain County." At the end of the meeting, Moreno encouraged JVS staff as well as the representatives of local businesses to present plans for development and educational projects to his office, which would consider them candidates for congressional discretionary funds, which are one-time payments Moreno is empowered to grant. "I am very bullish on this part of the state," Moreno said. "I think we have a lot to offer; we have got good available electricity, we have got good available water, we have got good available land and if you guys can deliver a great valuable workforce, that is the whole thing. Every CEO, I don't care where… that is the four things they ask about." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.