State Rep. Bryan Spencer said he is “thrilled to death” at the interest of regional community colleges in building a satellite campus in Warren County.

In early October, The Record reported that Spencer has been meeting with leaders at St. Charles Community College and officials in Warren County about the possibility of establishing a local satellite campus to provide technical and manufacturing courses. In response, East Central College President Dr. Jon Bauer said ECC could also fulfill that need.

Spencer, who has been pushing for a local trade-oriented community college for several years, said ECC staff was not interested in the idea when he talked to them two years ago. Previous attempts to establish an ECC campus in Warren County haven’t been successful, he said, but he is willing to work with the college.

“All I know is I want a tech school in Warren County,” Spencer said. “I don’t care who takes care of Warren County people, as long as Warren County people are taken care of.”

In the past, ECC has offered classes and noncredit technical training in Warrenton. It previously has partnered with Warren County R-III School District to offer courses at the district’s Alpha Academy facility starting in 2011. 

The programs ranged from college basics to trade- and business-related courses, but were ended in 2014 due to low enrollment, said Joel Doepker, ECC’s vice president for external relations. There were only 10 students enrolled in courses in the spring 2014 semester, according to data from the school.

ECC also has offered short-term nursing and welding classes at locations in Warren County as recently as 2014-2015, but Doepker said the most successful ECC programs in Warren County are certain workforce training classes offered to employees of businesses like CertainTeed and SAF Holland.

Dual interests

The leaders of both ECC and SCC say the community colleges are eager to participate in talks with Warren County officials. However, neither college has fully committed to establishing a Warren County campus, saying only that they are open to the idea at this very early stage.

“I can certainly appreciate the interest in having opportunities for further education and training available — that’s what a community college is all about,” Bauer said in early October. “I’m looking forward to engaging with those in the area to talk about what else can be done and I’m hopeful we can serve their needs.”

SCC President Dr. Barbara Kavalier released a written statement Oct. 16, saying, “We are ready to be part of the discussion. It really comes down to what is best for the good citizens of Warren County.”

If county officials choose to work with SCC, there would be hurdles to overcome. Warren County is in ECC’s extended service area. Establishing an SCC campus would require redistricting the northern part of the county to move it into SCC’s district, which officials said could be difficult to negotiate and would require a public vote.

But, as SCC notes, enrollment of Warren County students at the college is higher than three of the four counties that currently make up SCC’s extended service area.

EDC initiative

The Greater Warren County Economic Development Council (EDC), is planning to form a committee to work through the details of bringing a college campus to Warren County, President Wayne Baker said.

During an Oct. 11 discussion with the Truesdale Board of Aldermen, Baker said the EDC wants to bring together representatives from local governments, school districts and the business community to sit on the committee.

Bringing trade-based education to the county contributes to the EDC’s economic development mission, because manufacturers are looking for a skilled workforce when they consider locating in the area, Baker said.

The committee will have to discuss plans for how a campus project would be funded. It likely would require a local tax increase, Baker said, even with potential contributions of $1 million each from the state and federal governments.

“Two million dollars goes absolutely nowhere to build a campus of the size that I personally would like to see long term,” Baker said. “I only consider that money to be development money. I don’t consider it to be capital expense — building, long-term maintenance, ground acquisition, so on.”