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Tooele Technical College cites building expansion and asks for ongoing funding for new capacity and faculty
Summary
Tooele Technical College (Tooele Tech) told legislators it is completing a building expansion that will double welding capacity, has seen steep CDL growth, and needs ongoing funding for faculty and operating costs; college leaders raised utility‑cost pressures and the need to align staffing funding with opening new buildings.
President Hacking of Tooele Technical College told the committee Tooele Tech is the state’s smallest technical college by headcount but one of the fastest growing, and that a recently funded building expansion will double program capacity in key shops.
He told the panel the college’s expansion increases welding booth capacity from 19 to 30 and will double teaching space when it opens next month; the college scheduled a ribbon cutting for March 28. Hacking said the college funded a faculty line from fund balance to sustain CDL growth (250% growth over five years) and is requesting ongoing funding to keep that position and to staff expanded welding and other programs.
Hacking described a one‑time building expansion appropriation already committed and said the ongoing funding that followed left only about $88,900 in new ongoing funding after accounting for compensation, ISF and O&M needs; that gap complicates staffing the new facility. He urged the committee to consider indexing funding streams that cover persistent cost increases such as utilities. “If these cost escalations persist, I would just urge the committee to consider indexing these increases and funding them like you do benefit increases,” Hacking said.
The college highlighted local wins: a high school student placing second in the National SkillsUSA welding competition, a Kenworth donation of a truck for the diesel program, and a 4% FTE increase this year despite construction disruptions. Hacking emphasized Tooele Tech’s top programs by enrollment include cosmetology, diesel, IT, welding and CDL; he said cosmetology remains important in the community even if wage data undercount some earnings.
Ending: Tooele asked for ongoing capacity funding to sustain faculty and equipment for the new building and for support to open new programs (machining, plumbing apprenticeship, automotive and surgical tech) that local employers have requested. The committee thanked Tooele Tech for the invitation to the ribbon cutting.
