Cape community college concept moving forward

More than a decade after it was first proposed, the idea of establishing a two-year community college in Cape Girardeau is once again moving forward.

A letter of intent was submitted Tuesday to the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) on behalf of public school districts in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Perry County indicating an interest in creating what would become the state's 13th community college.

The school districts — Cape Girardeau School District No. 63, Jackson R-2 School District and Perry County District No. 32 — have named a steering committee to manage development of the Great River Community College District, which organizers say is the district's "working name."

Rich Payne, who retired in 2018 after serving 18 years as director of the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, chairs the steering committee, formally known as the Committee for Affordable Technical Education.

"We have wonderful school districts in this region and one of the best career centers in the State of Missouri," Payne said. "We also have one of the best four-year institutions in the state."

But a "technical college," he said, "is the missing piece in our region's educational system structure."

The Cape Girardeau community college concept dates back about 15 years, Payne said, when a group of community leaders started discussing the idea.

A needs analysis a few years later led to a collaboration in 2010 among Southeast Missouri State University, Three Rivers College and Mineral Area College known as the Partnership for Higher Education.

The partnership offers general education instruction allowing students in Cape Girardeau and neighboring counties to earn college credits for select two-year associate degrees or to transfer to a four-year college.

A "community" or "technical" college, Payne said, would offer an additional opportunity for students seeking certifications or two-year degrees required for specific jobs in certain industries and career fields.

"We do not need another general education facility," Payne said. "We need an emphasis in specific skill sets and programs. This (a new community college) would be the next level up with the ability to grant certificates and degrees and provide the next level of training in various areas to fit the needs of our business community."

Now that the steering committee has been established and the CBHE has been notified of the committee's intent to create a community college district, Payne said the next step will be to hire a consultant to conduct a community survey and feasibility study of the proposed district.

"It's a three-pronged needs analysis to show there's a need in the community and region, to determine if the community wants it and to determine if it can sustain itself," Payne explained.

Upon completion of the survey and feasibility study, the steering committee will then submit a formal proposal to the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development (DHEWD) along with a petition containing a required number of voter signatures.

After review and comment by the DHEWD staff, the community college proposal would be officially submitted to CBHE for consideration and, if approved, voters in the three school districts would be asked to approve the college district and elect the school's first board of trustees.

"The whole package — the needs analysis, community survey and petition signatures — would go to the coordinating board sometime in July to be acted on at the board's September meeting so we can put it on the ballot the following April," Payne said.

The dollars make sense

The district would be financed, in part, through a property tax based on assessed valuations in the district.

"The property tax we'll ask for is one dime on $100," Payne said.

That's a small price to pay for the economic benefit a community college can provide, he said, and pointed to an Ernst & Young study completed earlier this year stating job growth in the Cape Girardeau area from 2010 through 2019 was 3.76%. During that same period, Missouri had an overall job growth rate of 8.9% and the national rate was 15.1%.

"The absence of a technical school (that) likely made it more difficult for employers to find skilled production workers," the report stated, adding of seven communities of similar size in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee that were part of the study, only Cape Girardeau lacked a technical school.

A community college here, Payne said, will help "prime the region's economic pump" by providing additional skills to the area's work force.

"In my opinion, it's the right thing to do for our region," he continued. "It's the right thing to do for students, and when I say students, I'm talking about all age spectrums, not only high school kids, but the under employed and others to bring them up to a sustainable wage."

Committee representation

The Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Perry County school superintendents each named six members to the district's steering committee, which held its first meeting in August.

Cape Girardeau School District representatives on the steering committee are school board member Jeff Glenn, Career and Technology Center director Libby Guilliams, Red Letter Communications president Jim Riley, JCS Wireless president and Missouri State Rep. Kathy Swan, First Missouri State Bank president and CEO Steve Taylor and Lighthouse Ministries senior pastor Adrian Taylor.

Steering committee representatives appointed by the Jackson School District are Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce president Brian Gerau, Jackson Tire Center owner Charlie Glueck, Mayor Dwain Hahs, Liberty Utilities territory manager Matt Huber, Jackson schools superintendent John Link and Jackson High School faculty member Andy Stover.

The Perry County School District is represented on the steering committee by Perryville city administrator Brent Buerck, The Bank of Missouri regional president Paul Gard, Perry County Clerk Jared Kutz, Angela Prost of TG Missouri in Perryville, Perry County Economic Development Authority executive director Scott Sattler and Chris Francis, director of The Collaborative School in St. Louis.

Payne is one of the ad hoc committee members. The others are Benton Hill Investment Co. president Tim Goodman, Danielle Poyner of Drury Southwest and former Cape Girardeau School Board member Paul Nenninger.

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