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STC to be consolidated with Southeastern Tech
In a stunning move Thursday afternoon, The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Board voted to consolidate 14 state technical colleges into seven. Two of the schools slated for consolidation are Swainsboro Technical College and Southeastern Technical College in Vidalia.
“We are going to be as positive as we can. We will serve the same service area. The impact on our people is minimal,” said Swainsboro Tech President Larry Calhoun.
While we hate to lose the autonomy, we hope together we can come up with a better way to serve our students,” Calhoun said. He added that he hoped everyone would have a job.
Under the proposed plan, Calhoun will remain in Swainsboro and become the campus provost. Dr. Cathy Mitchell, President of Southeastern Tech will become President of the consolidated school. The changes are to be completed by July 2009. Naming of the consolidated school is to be determined by the local boards and their communities.
State Representative Butch Parrish stated his displeasure with the lack of prior discussion regarding the consolidation decision. “I can’t believe we didn’t get the courtesy of being told what the board was thinking. It seems the board had to cut 3 million dollars and decided to do the most disruptive thing they could do,” Parrish said. “I think we will get some clarity in a few days. I’m not through yet; there is more to come. I have requested a copy of the minutes of that meeting; I want to know what was said,” Parrish added.
Parrish also pointed out that the cuts totaled only 3.5 million dollars of a 600 million dollar education budget, or 3.5 million of a state budget of 17 billion. “It’s a drop in the bucket,” he said.
State Senator Jack Hill stated, “this move seems short-sighted given the role the President plays in raising funds for the school and the role that the President plays interacting with local industry. If savings were the goal, there would appear to be some other business options.”
The board is made up of seventeen members appointed by the Governor’s Office. Allen Rice, owner of Savannah Luggage in Vidalia is the vice chair and represents the 12th district covering Swainsboro Tech and its service area. For a complete list of board members and contact information visit www.technicalcollegesystemofgeorgia.org. Calls to Rice were not returned as of press time.
“We are going to be as positive as we can. We will serve the same service area. The impact on our people is minimal,” said Swainsboro Tech President Larry Calhoun.
While we hate to lose the autonomy, we hope together we can come up with a better way to serve our students,” Calhoun said. He added that he hoped everyone would have a job.
Under the proposed plan, Calhoun will remain in Swainsboro and become the campus provost. Dr. Cathy Mitchell, President of Southeastern Tech will become President of the consolidated school. The changes are to be completed by July 2009. Naming of the consolidated school is to be determined by the local boards and their communities.
State Representative Butch Parrish stated his displeasure with the lack of prior discussion regarding the consolidation decision. “I can’t believe we didn’t get the courtesy of being told what the board was thinking. It seems the board had to cut 3 million dollars and decided to do the most disruptive thing they could do,” Parrish said. “I think we will get some clarity in a few days. I’m not through yet; there is more to come. I have requested a copy of the minutes of that meeting; I want to know what was said,” Parrish added.
Parrish also pointed out that the cuts totaled only 3.5 million dollars of a 600 million dollar education budget, or 3.5 million of a state budget of 17 billion. “It’s a drop in the bucket,” he said.
State Senator Jack Hill stated, “this move seems short-sighted given the role the President plays in raising funds for the school and the role that the President plays interacting with local industry. If savings were the goal, there would appear to be some other business options.”
The board is made up of seventeen members appointed by the Governor’s Office. Allen Rice, owner of Savannah Luggage in Vidalia is the vice chair and represents the 12th district covering Swainsboro Tech and its service area. For a complete list of board members and contact information visit www.technicalcollegesystemofgeorgia.org. Calls to Rice were not returned as of press time.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of forest-blade.com.
Concerned abour wrote on Sep 10, 2008 10:41 AM:
If the decision on who will be president is based upon seniority with the tech school system, the location of the president should be at the school that has seniority. Swainsboro Tech was established in 1963. Vidalia should have been Swainsboro's satelite school to begin with--not the other way around.
Swainsboro now has a very good president who was with the military before he started working with the tech school system. Should military service for our country count against him?
Leaders in Emanual County, stand up. Don't let Vidalia take our school. "