Rep. Dave Paul was recently elected chair of the Postsecondary Education and Workforce Committee, according to a press release by the Washington House Democrats.
Paul has served on the committee for six years and has over 25 years of teaching experience in higher education. In this new leadership role, he will help address workforce shortage issues around the state and on Whidbey, where he said health care, ferries and the building industry are particularly affected by these shortages.
Paul said he will focus on priorities such as improving access to the Washington College Grant, which gives funds to eligible people who want to attend college, certificate programs, job training courses or apprenticeships.
Despite having what he called the best financial aid program in the country, there aren’t enough Washington students applying, something the committee intends to tackle.
Paul, the director of Community Relations and a teacher at Skagit Valley College, is also interested in helping more students get into workforce training programs, as well as to ensure the Guided Pathways structure runs smoothly at the different institutions that adopted this framework — which helps students save time and money by helping them choose classes and effectively plan their time.
Rep. Clyde Shavers said he was recently appointed to serve as the assistant speaker pro tempore for the House Democrats and continues to serve as the vice chair of the House Education Committee, which deals with K-12 schools. He is also a member of the House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans Committee and has recently joined the Health Care and Wellness Committee.
Sen. Ron Muzzall is the Republican deputy caucus chair and the ranking member on the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee, where he sits next to the chair. He is also a member of various other committees, including the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the Joint Legislative Committee on Water Supply During Drought and the Joint Legislative Executive Committee on Planning for Aging and Disability Issues.