Committee seeks post-secondary education options

An effort is underway to gather information on the possible need for a local community college.
The state’s Department of Higher Education has accepted a letter of intent presented by a steering committee.
“We’re working with hiring a consultant in order to do the needs analysis,” said Rich Payne, a former educator who is chairing Great River Community College District Committee. “Perry County, the city of Perryville, the city of Jackson, the city of Cape and the industrial authority are all considering contributing to that funding effort. We’re getting pretty close to having the funding secured and we’re probably going to start the needs analysis shortly after the holidays.”
The total cost of the study will be north of $98,000, Payne said. According to a proposed timeline, a needs analysis could be finished in April. Submitting a formal proposal to the Department of Higher Education and then gathering petitions to submit a question to voters for the April 5, 2022 election are on the list of planned accomplishments for 2021.
“To create a community college district, it’s all in state statute,” Payne said. “You basically follow the letter of the law, as it’s written. It’s a pretty lengthy process to get to the point of consideration.”
There is a proposed name attached to the planning efforts - Great River Community College District - but nothing is definite at this time.
“We’re just throwing that out there,” Payne said. “Those are all conceptual ideas at this particular point. If you look at it, we (could) span all the way from the Chester Bridge in north Perry County down to almost the port in Scott County.”
Payne said the timing is right to study the effort more in-depth.
Mineral Area College and Rankin Technical Institute serve area students. However, Payne thinks there could be more of a footprint.
“That’s an outreach site that is not on their main campus,” Payne said. “There’s no ill will with them, but part of the thought process to go ahead and continue forward with the 13th Community College (District) is that we can annex in with Mineral Area College.
Payne pointed out, with any annexation effort, the area would contribute to an already created tax levy, which is .48 on $100,000 of assessed value.
Between the three districts - Cape, Jackson and Perry - there is more than $1.5 billion in assessed valuation, so the tax that we would have to ask for is 0.10 per $100,000, which is “more palatable to the voters in Perry and Cape counties,” Payne said.
“It’s time to get it out there,” Payne said. “I really want to educate the voters because if we do get to that point of a property tax I want to make sure there’s no misinformation out there.”
Payne, who ran the career and technology center in Cape Girardeau for 18 years, wants to help students develop skills to be more marketable for an ever-changing workforce.
“That’s my passion,” he said. “I started out at the university level, I then came to the high school level, and then I came to the career and technology center. It’s just a different area of education that people have not valued as much and our economy is now trying to catch up to that value. Those people that have technical skills are in higher demand now than most four-year degree programs. That is what my passion comes from.”
Payne wants students to have opportunities beyond the completion of high school.
The community college route is about providing specific training for more specialized areas of the workforce, according to Payne.

“You’re talking about kids from 15 to 50 or more because you’re talking about retraining adults, secondary education, a whole market place of people.”
Recent analysis has shown a declining work force, which is why more students needs trained for employment.
“I think that’s critical and I think that’s part of the push,” Payne said. “It’s a big deal. Between these three school districts, we have good students. Everybody does it a little differently, but we have a great work ethic in this region. The thing we need to do is continue to grow that work ethic and don’t let those kids go away but let them stay here with their skills. There is gainful employment and a very good salary in a lot of businesses in our region.
Payne is optimistic the required needs analysis will be completed by April.
After the 2021 municipal election, planners will be able to determine the number of signatures required to get on a petition, which is also part of the process.
The coordinating board looks at that as a part of the whole process before you get any tax initiative on the ballot
The final goal is to get a referendum question on - an up or down vote to create tax district - for the April 2022 election.
“That is the timeline if everything falls into place,” Payne said. “The reason for that is, by statute, this particular type of election must occur in a municipal election.”
Payne is pleased with the progress so far.
“I think it’s going good,” Payne said. “It’s been a very positive response from our region. There’s some angst about it from Mineral Area College about this whole deal, and I understand that. If we can proceed forward with a dime as opposed to 48 cents for the taxpayers in our region, that’s a decision that the committee made. I know that’s not popular in Farmington and Park Hills but at the same time that’s kind of where it’s at, at this time.”
Perry County District No. 32 superintendent Andy Comstock sees a true need for the development of specialized skills.
“The issue for us is post-secondary technical training,” Comstock said. “We have some large businesses in our community, T.G. (USA), Gilster (Mary Lee), Rollet Bros., all of these folks need skilled training and they are so specialized in certain areas. We’re just looking for post-secondary education and technical training that can help build a solid workforce that can help meet the needs of our community.”
Comstock believes the local effort is about finding more options for students.
“For me as a school leader, I’m always in the business of creating opportunities for students, whether they are my students or students elsewhere in the community to further their education,” Comstock said.
Provided the initiative is both effective and low-cost, Comstock thinks it could be a valuable part of the area’s future growth.
“It’s very essential to how we grow as a community,” Comstock said. “If you have post-secondary training in your community, then those people don’t have to leave to go get that and are more likely to stay here.”
Steering committee members from Perry County include Brent Buerck, Chris Francis, Paul Gard, Jared Kutz, Angela Prost and Scott Sattler. Buerck said the city and county have both contributed $10,000 toward the study.