SUNBURY — The Susquehanna Valley community college advocates say they need $1.5 million a year in financial support from local and county governments.
How they will get that $1.5 million depends on how many local and county governments they can get to buy in, said Lenaire K. Ahlum, president of the Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project.
If five counties agree to participate, it would cost $300,000 per county. In meetings with community college planners, most county commissioners in the region have expressed little interest in supporting the effort, she said.
“This is a process,” Ahlum said. “It’s a process to get our elected leaders to understand the value of post-secondary education.”
Polling done as part of the planning process found that 78 percent of Valley residents surveyed said they would either like to enroll in a community college themselves, or they would recommend it to someone else. All of the studies conducted as part of the community college planning process indicated that there is a significant need for a community college in the region, Ahlum said.
Ahlum hopes eventually to attract a student enrollment of 3,000. About 500 students attend classes at Luzerne County Community College’s Shamokin branch, about 15 percent of whom are Sunbury area residents.
The community college has pegged Sunbury as its likely main location, but there would be satellite classes held throughout the region and online classes would be widely available.
Pennsylvania has 14 community colleges, while North Carolina has a community college in every county, Ahlum said.
Advocates for the community college plan are hoping those in favor of the effort will contact their county commissioners to urge their support for the effort. Those interested in doing so can by visiting: http://www.newcommunitycollege.com/petition-letter/.
