NORTHUMBERLAND — While officials are working toward establishing a Central Susquehanna Valley Community College, an auxiliary project to hold classes through alternate schools is taking shape.
Committee member Stephen Connolley said the community college is preparing a feasibility study, but in the meantime the group created a Community Education Council.
“In essence it provides a facility for another college to come in and provide classes,” he said. “... It jump-starts education and jump-starts the idea that we will be able to offer courses in the area.”
The CEC received a $118,000 state grant to work with regional institutions such as Bloomsburg University and Luzerne County Community College to offer the classes locally.
The committee would use the grant to set up the location, have the room ready, Connolley said, so the teacher can come in and begin.
Barbra Steinhurst, vice president of the project committee, said in August the goal is to avoid duplicating courses offered by local universities such as Bucknell and Susquehanna.
Students enrolled would then pay home institution prices, depending on the school that is teaching the class.
“The preliminary thing is to strictly get some education opportunities to people,” Connolley said.
Connolley said the CEC is looking for specialists in alternative fuels — contractors, businesses and individuals — to teach students.
“We don’t have expertise in this area to take advantage,” he said. “... I’m almost positive this is one of the first things we will be doing.”
At the time, there are no vendors scheduled and no classes are ready to start.
At the monthly meeting of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce — held Thursday at Front Street Station in Northumberland — Lenaire Ahlum, president of the Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project committee, addressed the crowd on why having a college in the area is important.
She said it would keep youth here, help the local economy grow, help people finish their degree and enable individuals to obtain high priority occupations.
“It gives hope to many people,” she said. “There are pockets of people in the area that do need jobs and have hope.”
Dan Perna, former assistant superintendent of Shikellamy School District, agreed and stressed that with a community college, individuals could be retrained as well as trained.
“There’s tremendous retraining,” he said, “not just new training.”
Ahlum said a feasibility study is currently underway and must be approved by the Governor and state Board of Education.
“If deemed correct,” she said, “a community college could be ours.”
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