As Erie Times-News reporter Matthew Rink detailed, the state last fall authorized $10 million in the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program for Erie County’s proposed community college. And this week the county took the next step and submitted a request for $3.5 million of that funding.
A community college plan developed by nonprofit Empower Erie over the past several months now becomes the formal application for the new school that could be submitted to the state by the end of the week.
Empower Erie has created www.empowererie.org, and information on the community college effort can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Fifty years ago on April 3, the state created a system of community colleges that ushered in dramatic growth in the network of schools that now enroll 300,000 students.
Community colleges are beginning to receive more attention as students realize they are able to receive certification and degrees in a shorter period of time for less money.
The survey of 500 randomly-selected Erie County residents was conducted in late February and early March as part a state-required feasibility study.
Recently I read that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pledged to cover tuition costs at state colleges for hundreds of thousands of middle- and low-income New Yorkers.
Thursday evening event gives business, community leaders an opportunity to learn more about the community college proposal.
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