Chamber board backs free tuition, training

YOUNGSTOWN — The Regional Chamber’s board unanimously supports an ambitious plan to provide free tuition for college or vocational training for all Mahoning Valley high school graduates. And that’s just to start.

The board also voted Wednesday to give Tom Humphries, chamber president, the authority to begin work on creating charter governments in local counties and consolidating school districts. The proposals are ambituous but business leaders believe the Valley’s work force must be better educated to compete in today’s economy, Humphries said.

School consolidations would free up money to help make this happen by providing free education. Savings would be achieved by reducing the number of school administrators in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, Humphries said. Also, the county government change would help the area by reducing money spent on government, he said.

The goal is to place the charter issue and a tax for the free-tuition program on the November 2008 ballot.