Each fall, and again in spring, thousands of college students converge on Erie County institutions, 17,120 undergraduates to be exact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Each of the four universities in the county is bustling with activity. Students frantically scurry to buy books, meet with advisors, rearrange schedules and prepare for a new semester.
A new institution could be taking part in the not-too-distant future. Northwestern Pennsylvania Community College [NPCC], the proposed community college in Erie County, seems to be inching closer to becoming reality.
Erie County is one of three Pennsylvania counties attempting to establish a community college, with the last such institution established in 1993.
Although no definite date is set for the opening of a new post-secondary institution, it is at the forefront of many people’s minds in the area, and past and present politicians minds.
Former County Executive Mark DiVecchio devoted almost a quarter of his 2008 State of the County address to the subject as well as a significant portion of his 2009 address.
“The establishment of a community college is one of the most effective actions we can take to start breaking the cycle of poverty in our community,” DiVecchio said in his 2008 speech. “And I promise over the next two years to make affordable and accessible education not only a possibility, but a reality.”
DiVecchio, who got the project rolling back in 2007 by hiring the committee that eventually recommended a community college, is no longer the driving force behind it; that responsibility fell to his successor, Democrat Barry Grossman.
Grossman defeated the incumbent DiVecchio back in November and took over moving the project forward, when it was already more than a year behind schedule. Grossman, with the assistance of David Pierce, former president of the American Association of Community Colleges, seem to be holding to the idea of using gaming revenue to fund the school. This is the same plan laid out by the 2007 committee, led by Mike Batchelor of the Erie Community Foundation, in its five-year plan.
This plan has more than a few eyebrows raised, however, as reports surfaced last April that the projected gaming revenue may be insufficient to fund the project.
This makes tax hikes the next logical step for financing the endeavor, an idea not likely to sit well with residents in the already economically troubled region.
Despite the possible problems, there is a budget outlined in the five year plan. The institution would lease its equipment over a three-to-five year period to lessen its startup cost. The highlight of the budget plan is the $7,088,500 that would need to go into building a campus. The proposed location is the Family First Sports Park located at 8155 Oliver Rd. in Erie.
Financial support for the endeavor is on a weak foundation at best, and the public will have to be convinced that the reward of such a project would outweigh the risks.
Many citizens seem to think the college is a good idea and they support the project. A recent poll on topix.com found that 78 percent of voters supported the project and only 21 percent opposed it, with 1 percent being undecided or indifferent.
The 2007 committee cited three reasons for the project in their report. First, it must meet the needs of employers both now and in the future. The second reason is the need to improve household income and educational attainment, with the third reason being to make the area a more attractive place to companies to locate.
Even if these three goals are attained, it is not guaranteed that the economy can benefit significantly.
Unemployment in the county is currently at 10.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
These figures are even more startling once the fact that unemployment was at only 6.1 percent at the close of 2008 is considered.
This trend makes the goal of meeting the needs of employers difficult to sell. People can’t find jobs because there aren’t jobs. On the other hand a new college would create jobs simply by existing.
The four existing schools employ 3,545 people and carry a total of 1,211 faculty collectively, according to their websites. That’s an average of 866 employees and 302 faculty members per institution.
The new institution would be comparable in size to this average (although not at the beginning) and is projected to produce about 1,000 jobs according to the final five year plan laid out in 2007.
This would not be the immediate case as the plan, at least for the beginning, is to use faculty and facilities from the existing four universities. All four of the existing institutions have expressed a desire to be involved in the development of the project.
“I know there is some discussion about collaboration and trying to come together,” said Jean Jones, president of the Edinboro University chapter of APSCUF, the union representing faculty.
“As long as it’s worked out jointly and amicably there’s no problem.”
The five-year plan would see the community college operate under its own power after the fifth year. Attrition of staff and faculty would be 10 percent annually, and about half of the people employed would take average or slightly below average salaries in order to accommodate better employee benefits.
This plan creates an issue, said Jones, not in attracting students, but in attracting faculty. “I would think if they start a community college and they don’t use a similar system [to Edinboro’s], and they probably wouldn’t if it’s not a unionized setting,” she said. “Even if they find faculty, they might have a hard time keeping them because they would be looking for the better opportunity.
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