SUNBURY — More than 800 people signed community college petition letters at Sunbury’s River Festival on Friday and Saturday, while community college advocates laid out a plan to pay for the venture by splitting the $1.5 million annual cost between Northumberland, Snyder, Union and Montour counties.
Residents of the four counties signed petitions directed at their particular county commissioners, requesting they vote to sponsor a community college in the Valley, said Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project organizer Lenaire Ahlum.
The letters asked for a college dedicated to serve the people in the middle of the state, where community college access is lacking, she said.
Sponsorship involves a financial commitment, but backers believe the amount is small compared to the “inevitable” return on the investment.
“For every dollar Northumberland County would invest, there is an immediate return of $3,” said former Sunbury Councilman John Shipman. “That’s because of the state’s investment subsidy and the tuition revenues,” he said.
Ahlum said the new signatures bring the total number gathered by the education project to 1,100.
College officials said that if each county contributed $7.85 per resident, it would cost Northumberland County $716,708, Union County $341,906, Snyder County $302,339 and Montour County $139,046.
County officials added that if Northumberland County, where the college would be located, were to add 1 mill of property tax, it would generate $1 million in revenue. That tax increase would amount to roughly 5 percent of what county taxpayers now pay.
Volunteers manned the group’s booth at the festival and spoke with passersby about the permanent jobs, new businesses and job training that a new community college would bring.
If located in Sunbury, it would be a vibrant spark for revitalization, Ahlum said, and its continuing fuel.
“When some residents said they thought a branch campus of Bloomsburg University was going to be planted into Sunbury, Heather Gearin, SVCEP office administrator, responded by asking, ‘What’s missing? We have Bloomsburg University only 23 miles from here, and we have Bucknell and Susquehanna universities. What’s missing is our own community college.’”
Other residents said the Luzerne County Community College satellite campus in Shamokin is where students can get job skills, Ahlum said.
“But a Bridgette, a sophomore at Shikellamy High School, said she does not understand why Northumberland County has Luzerne County’s Community College. ‘It doesn’t make sense; it’s not our county’s community college.’ she said. Her mother, Julia, volunteered at the River Festival and believes that the only possibility for her three children to get a college education is through a local community college that they can relate to.”
Ahlum acknowledged that the cost of a dedicated community college was often a point of discussion, given the harsh economy and double-digit unemployment.
“The response of SVCEP volunteers was: ‘We can’t afford not to do this. Those displaced workers need retraining.’”
Ahlum explained that funding sources for a dedicated community college include tuition revenues, the state subsidy and the local investment by the counties that sponsor the college.
“The main question people are asking is ‘how much will it cost me?’” Ahlum said. “The answer depends on how the local sponsor wants to fund it. That said, here are some figures that give a general idea for public discussion.”
She presented the following:
Add to the $3 for every dollar invested that Shipman foretells a certain amount of resultant discretionary spending “and there is a profound economic gain,” Shipman said.
Moreover, he said, “All of the monies generated at a dedicated local community college remain in the service area.” With external providers of education, like Bloomsburg University or Luzerne County Community College, the money flows away, Ahlum explained.
Members of the SVCEP welcome the public’s comments, questions and concerns, she said. The group can be reached at 286-1395 or info@svcep.org.
Anyone from the four counties who wishes to sign the petition can do so at SVCEP’s website, www.newcommunitycollege.com, or by visiting its office in the Sunbury Municipal Building. Also, SVCEP representatives will be collecting petitions and providing information to visitors at the Milton Harvest Festival on Sept. 12 and 19. Volunteers are needed. Call or e-mail Ahlum at lahlum@svcep.org.
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