The mission of North Idaho College is to serve our students in all Idaho's northern counties. We agree strongly with Trustee Christie Wood that the KTEC site in Rathdrum deserves serious consideration as NIC's new Professional Technical Educational Facility.

The RGU Architects study states on pg 2-1 "that educational institutions operate at peak capability when they pool resources and develop synergy and cohesion." Such synergy was demonstrated when the citizens in School Districts 271, 272 and 273 voted by super majority to fund KTEC. The vision and leadership of the NIC Board, eight years ago, was to acquire 40 acres adjacent to KTEC for such a time as this. KTEC offers the same technical programs as NIC. Why duplicate efforts? NIC has an excellent duel enrollment program allowing high school students to achieve college credits while still in high school. Why not afford similar opportunities to our technology students?

Our downtown waterfront real estate is very precious. We own the property on the Rathdrum Prairie. Looking forward 50 years, does it still make sense repairing diesel semi-truck engines along the lake? Does it make sense to demolish existing buildings on campus and shoehorning a welding building onto the Bill Eisenwinter Memorial Soccer Field, ripping up our biggest green space?

On page 5-10.6 of the RDU study, the projected cost of constructing the 230,310 square foot facility is $60,081,736 or $260.87/square foot - then we must still fill it with equipment. Wow! And we don't have the money yet to do any of it.

Do we have to duplicate mills, lathes and $200,000 robotic welding systems when such high dollar capital equipment can be shared by both schools and have already been donated to the KTEC Machining program? The beautiful KTEC campus was completed at $140/square foot. Even allowing for RGU's $1,000,000 estimated sewer, water and other infrastructure costs, building 230,310 sf to KTEC's high quality standards will still save us $26.2 million. In other words, we can construct a campus that will meet our projected needs for 50 years for less than a scaled down 5-year facility downtown.

The one advantage RGU points out to a downtown location is the proximity to existing classrooms and food-service. In their study they state, "General Classrooms can be utilized by more than one program."

Besides housing technical space, KTEC features classrooms dedicated to math and other skills. At very little cost, far less than $26.2 million, we can build additional general classrooms for the math, English and science courses students will require to completing their AA degrees. Invite Joey T's Taste of Chicago, serving the most delicious meals in Rathdrum, to design the food service. Get local folks involved.

Within the decade, District 273 will require a new high school and it will be next to KTEC. Lancaster Road will become the Technology/Educational Corridor, not competing with but complementing the beautiful Educational Corridor downtown. Within the decade, technical job creation will explode northward with companies like Empire Airlines two miles away at Lancaster and Atlas Road, Unitech, Blue Water Technology and Transtector Systems among many by the Cd'A Airport. Deitrich Manufacturing, Litehouse, Smartplugs and medical device manufacturer Lead Lok, Inc., are growing up in Sandpoint. Think up, think north.

President Dunlap, Chairman Howard and Members of the Board, thank you for your leadership in addressing this critical professional technical educational need. May I offer this one suggestion? Since NIC is hosting three public meetings, and since we are meeting at NIC on April 15 and 29, why not hold the third meeting, May 6, at KTEC? Many of us in the community have never visited KTEC. By visiting both campuses we can see for ourselves the pros and cons of each site and become better informed participants.

We know that our North Idaho community will come together to find a way to quickly build this school and at a fraction of the RGU cost estimate. Why? Because we want to. Born in 1952, folks of my generation know that unless our kids and grandkids learn to think, build and innovate, they stand no chance in an increasingly brutal global economy.

Alan J. Golub is a Hayden resident.