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Gateway seeks $49 million for expansion

ELKHORN--The welding lab at Gateway Technical College today is crowded with equipment, training bays and wires hanging from the ceiling.

Still, Dean Michael O’Donnell says classes are full each semester.

If voters in Walworth County and two other counties approve a referendum on the April 2 ballot, O’Donnell said the college could build a larger teaching facility to provide students with the skills they need to find jobs.

The welding lab is one example of programs at Gateway’s three campuses that officials say would be improved if voters pass a $49 million bond referendum on the ballot in Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties.

Doing so will let the college expand and renovate its facilities and improve technical training programs to meet what O’Donnell calls a skills gap between what jobs require and what potential employees know.

“We’re trying to put the resources on this campus to address that specific need,” O’Donnell said. “This referendum will jump start a lot of what we need to offer the community.”

The measure would increase annual property taxes by $9.73 per $100,000 of assessed value. All three counties would have to approve the measure for it to pass.

At the Elkhorn campus, O’Donnell said the college would be able to improve education in manufacturing, welding and computer numeric control to help address the skills gap.

For a full story, read Friday’s Gazette, read online in the Gazette’s E-Edition or check back at GazetteXtra.com.