To the editor,
My objective:
Graduate from high school here, and you will have the opportunity to earn an associate degree at Allen without tuition standing in your way.
I believe in Allen Community College. I graduated from Allen, and the foundation I received there helped me continue my education.
Because I believe so deeply in this college, I also believe it should provide a meaningful and measurable benefit to the families who have supported it for generations.
Over tax years 2016–2025, Allen County certified about $31.5 million in property-tax levies for Allen Community College — mill rate times county assessed valuation, including the general fund and capital-outlay mills.
That is the amount billed to county property, not an unused mill cap.
Think about that: $31.5 million in just 10 years. Generations of local taxpayers — residents, farmers, homeowners and businesses — have helped build and sustain this institution.
Allen County and Iola are facing declining school enrollment and the loss of young families.
One practical response would be a last-dollar scholarship guaranteeing tuition and required fees at Allen for qualifying local high-school graduates.
This is not a request that everything be free. It is last-dollar help so tuition and required fees are covered after other aid.
This is not an attack on Allen Community College.
It is a request for the college to become an even stronger partner in the future of our students, families and communities. I have formally asked the Allen Community College Board of Trustees for a clear public answer: Can this be accomplished — and if not, why not?
After approximately $31.5 million in local property-tax support over just the past decade, taxpayers deserve that answer. I believe this can get done, and it would be a real help to our local schools and to building Iola and Allen County.
Travis West, Iola
