By EVAN DUNBAR
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – In a press conference that lasted just more than 30 minutes Wednesday, Gov. Sam Brownback discussed Kansas’ 50-year plan for water and the Ogallala Aquifer.

Brownback told the reporters he was pleased with the statewide meetings of the water task force and said the data he has on the Ogallala is solid.

“We’ve used 30 percent of it up,” Brownback said. “We know how much life expectancy we have, we’re going in a certain direction and we’ve got to change that.”

The governor focused specifically on the western half of the state, saying that with global incomes rising, the need for protein farming (cattle, chicken) is in much higher demand. He said there is an “agricultural renaissance” occurring, and that western Kansas is “a great place to do protein production.”

He also cited the state’s growing dairy production, but said there needs to be a way to sustain it.

“We are the fastest-growing dairy state in the country,” Brownback said. “We’ve got a really nice opportunity, but you’ve got to stretch that water.”

During the press conference, the governor also touted the Career Technical Education (CTE) initiative, which he signed into law in May 2012.

The governor said the CTE initiative is helping Kansas high school students pursue degrees at technical and community colleges by allowing them to apply for free tuition at those institutions.

The initiative provides extra funding in several different areas. It provides $8.75 million for student tuition in career technical programs, $1.5 million for high schools that increase the number of students earning an industry-recognized credential in certain occupations, and $50,000 in marketing to increase student participation in the program. It also provides funds to supplement school transportation costs to transport high school students to their local community or technical college.

Brownback said there has been a 65 percent increase in enrollment from year one of the initiative to year two.

“I think it’s been a home run,” Brownback said. “We have had a huge enrollment increase, and this just helps people’s earning potential.”

Brownback said in the future, 60 percent of jobs in the state will require some type of secondary degree.

He then touched on the issue of mental health and the integration of mental health treatment in the state prison system.

“If you want to deal with the prison problem, you have to deal with the mental health problem,” Brownback said. “We are trying to integrate these systems and get people involved earlier in the process.”

There are 8,848 male prisoners currently in penitentiaries across the state, exceeding capacity by nearly 70 inmates. According to the department of corrections website, the capacity of all state penitentiaries is 8,781.

Brownback said the Mentoring4Success program for newly released prisoners is looking promising, but there is still a ways for the program to go. The program is a community-based statewide initiative that provides mentoring services to help offenders safely and successfully return to communities. Mentors help offenders find employment and housing, get connected to the services and treatment they need and reunite safely with neighborhoods and their families.

“There are about 3,500 mentors for prisoners reentering society right now,” Brownback said. “Our goal is 6,000…and the crazy thing is, all this is voluntary.”

Evan Dunbar is a University of Kansas senior from Houston, Texas, majoring in journalism.