Empower Erie News & Updates

The State Board of Education votes 10 to 5 in favor of approving a community college for the county. 

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Victory for Erie County residents as the state Board of Educaion approves a new community college in the area. 

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Pennslyvania will build a community college for the first in more than 25 years. 

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Board of Education Approves Erie County's Community College Plan. 

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Our view: Community college vote long overdue

In a letter to the Board of Education chairwoman, Karen Farmer White, the Community
College Committee rightly noted that the economic disruption and dislocation
caused by the COVID-19 crisis only strengthens the case and need for a
community college in the only major population center in the state without one.
The region’s economy will need additional educational and workforce
development resources even more now to recover and grow.

Erie County and its residents have been waiting for a decision from Harrisburg
going on three years now. The Board of Education owes them one in May.

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Community College: Now more than ever

A message from Ron DiNicola of Empower Erie

A few short weeks ago – although it feels like a lifetime – we were preparing for the March 18 state Board of Education meeting where we were confident we would get approval for  a stand-alone community college in Erie County.

Since then, the Coronavirus crisis has triggered a seismic shift that has dramatically impacted every aspect of our lives. Nothing has been untouched, and it appears we can expect ongoing change and uncertainty for the foreseeable future.

Our local health, safety, economy and overall well-being are top of mind for everyone.

Yet, amid this crisis,  the goal for  Empower Erie remains the same – to assure that Erie County gets the community college we deserve to provide citizens of all ages and backgrounds with accessible and affordable education.

In fact, this is more important that it has ever been.

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Community Colleges Come through in Time of Crisis

With “stay-at-home” orders across the country, community colleges have responded rapidly to deliver on their core mission of education and training. 

The Coronavirus crisis has forced many physical campuses to  been temporarily shut down, except for “essential” services. 

Yet most community colleges have invested over the last decade in digitally based online educational delivery to supplement, as needed,  place-based courses with digital tools and resources. 

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Community college opponents seek to overturn the democratic process in Erie County.

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A community college has long been recommended in Erie County to fill a gap in the region’s education continuum and serve as a resource to local employers, especially manufacturers in the rapidly changing, high-tech global economy. There’s no question that isolated communities in Pennsylvania’s northern tier should have access to these resources. But we agree with Empower Erie Chairman Ron DiNicola, Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper, and state Sen. Dan Laughlin, of Millcreek Township, R-49th Dist., that the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College model, as it has evolved so far, might not scale to Erie’s deep and varied needs.

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