A child of the northwest, I am familiar with the impact Boeing has had on the region. As a journalist, I know one of the overriding issues in keeping Boeing and attracting other aerospace companies to come to Washington is the love-hate relationship between labor and big business.
That said, each of those on the panel also talked about the importance of education in saving and growing the aerospace industry in our state. It is a message we have also heard in years past from the timber industry and from Microsoft - companies are finding it hard to find Washington college graduates who are qualified for the jobs they have to offer.
One obstacle in graduating more qualified engineers from college actually starts much earlier in the education process. A review of the state's mathematics standards in 2007 for the state Board of Education suggested Washington expects less of its students when compared too the expectations of statistically high-achieving education systems in states like Massachusetts and Indiana.
In 2008, a group of 60 University of Washington professors wrote an open letter to state lawmakers saying many incoming freshmen could not solve math problems at even a middle school level, much less at a level needed to succeed in beginning engineering courses.
WASL scores also reflect a poor showing for most students, with fewer than half of all high school sophomores meeting the minimum grade level standards in math and science. The key seems to be that we need to find a way to better educate our children - and make careers in math and science more attractive to students.
One final note, TVW's re-broadcast of the Aerospace Summit last night was followed by a re-broadcast of the Higher Education Coordinating Board's July 28th meeting focusing on budget cuts to the state's colleges and universities. Somehow I find great irony in that.