Dear fellow Preble County residents:

I appreciate you taking a few minutes to read this letter about an upcoming building renovation project at the JVS. I have numerous friends who had the good fortune of attending Montgomery County JVS (now Miami Valley Career Technology Center). I have personally experienced the benefit of career-technical education.

This November, we will vote on an issue to continue to provide that opportunity for thousands of current and future Preble County students. MVCTC is asking for us to vote for a 1.43 mil bond/levy to repair and renovate the facility on Hoke Road.

MVCTC does so much for our community. The training provided to high school students and adults there is among the best in the nation. A young person who gets training at MVCTC can expand on that education by spending their 20’s learning on-the-job and be able to successfully own their own business by age 30, if they so desire.

Regardless, their services will be in demand for the rest of their life. The current low supply of skilled labor means that demand for MVCTC students is at an all-time high. Unfortunately, MVCTC is maxed out on space and turns away several hundred students each year because they do not have the space for the demand.

With this bond/levy, Ohio will pay for 47 percent of the cost of the renovation project. In addition to being limited on space for demand, the facility was built back when I was in elementary school and needs to be brought up to current standards for electricity, technology, and safety.

Remember this project needs to be done regardless of whether we have the State of Ohio pitch in or not. If we wait, we will have to pay 100 percent of the cost with local tax.

I encourage you to go to www.mvctclevy.com to get more details. Also, I hope you will speak to your friends and neighbors to get out and vote for the MVCTC bond/levy issue on Nov. 7. A vote for the bond/levy issue is a vote for the future of our community’s current and future students and our community’s future prosperity.

Jeff Sewert

Lewisburg