Investing in education is the life-blood of a community. Well-educated citizens lead to individuals who become valuable assets to a community.

Hinds Community College obviously recognizes this with its commitment to construct a $13 million, 44,000-square-foot academic and career-technical building at its Vicksburg-Warren campus.

The new building will house classrooms and laboratories for academic and career technical programs and the Vicksburg Warren School District’s River City Early College, where high school students can earn college credit along with their high school diploma.

“This provides an opportunity here for us to really improve the quality of life for people in Vicksburg and Warren County. It also provides an opportunity to provide a way in which our people can train and get better jobs,” said Hinds President Dr. Clyde Muse during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.

Dr. Muse is correct. This new facility will allow individuals in our community to get the necessary training they need to achieve higher paying jobs.

Students can also earn industry certifications through career technical education programs at no cost “so they can be prepared to go right into the workforce if they so choose,” according to VWSD Superintendent Chad Shealy, who is very excited.

But the commitment of the Warren County Board of Supervisors with a 1.4 mill property tax to fund construction of the new facility cannot be overlooked.

The board realizes the economic benefits of such a facility in our community to provide job training.

It’s great to see elected officials and educators come together for the common good of our community in bettering the lives of future generations.