Preserve the LPN Program

Honorable M. Jodi Rell:

             The budget issues facing our state are as difficult as they are unprecedented.  In this time of fiscal challenge, we must cut waste and redundancy in government. However, it is vital that we do not endanger our economic recovery by making decisions today that will cause both immediate and future problems. In fact, we must do all that we can to maintain vital services and economic development programs that can help pull our state out of this crisis, even as we try to reduce our expenditures as a whole.  That is why I am deeply concerned about your proposed "suspension" of the Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) program in the Connecticut Technical School System.  I write today in support of the State Vocational Federation of Teachers to urge you to reconsider suspending this important and valuable program.

             As you know, providing education for job training and re-training is vital for economic development.  We must give Connecticut residents the opportunity to acquire the skills they need to adapt and succeed in a changing economy.  At the same time, we face a decade-long crisis in nurse staffing levels; there simply are not enough trained professionals to fill the positions available--positions that are ready to hire today.  LPN training enables Connecticut residents to access this market for quality, well-paying jobs that is starved for qualified applicants.

             The cuts to this program are not only ill-advised from an economic development standpoint, they are also questionable from a fiscal perspective; the likely savings of closing this program appear dubious.  Contractual obligations, refunded application fees, and lost tuition revenues all contribute to potentially costing the state more money than simply leaving the program in place.  Suspending this program also has long-term fiscal effects.  Limiting the number of individuals able to serve as qualified nurses could cost the state millions in lost revenues and lost job opportunities over the next year and the next decade.

            I urge you to strongly reconsider whether this program is an appropriate place to make cuts.  I am confident that, upon further examination, you will conclude, as I have, that we must do everything we can to preserve the LPN Program in the Connecticut Technical School System.

 Sincerely,

 Susan Bysiewicz

Secretary of the State of Connecticut