Funding for arena at NKU is winning lawmakers' backing

Editorial: State shares blame for tuition hikes

Murray State and SCC collaborate so SCC students can transfer into MSU’s Telecommunications Systems Management Program

Gateway to Opportunity

Plan pushed to make Lynch coal mine tourist attraction

Funding for arena at NKU is winning lawmakers' backing

"There are not going to be any capital projects built unless the Northern Kentucky arena is built," said Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville. "That's a strong commitment that our caucus has. There won't be any built unless that one is."

NKU estimates the arena to have an annual economic impact of $4 million.

The university would use the arena for hosting athletic events and commencement ceremonies. NKU officials also plan to use the arena for non-university events like concerts and high school athletic tournaments.

Like Williams, Sen. Katie Stine, R-Fort Thomas, is digging in her heels, too.

"The arena is really important, and I want to make sure that stays there," she said.

Stine is poised to become Senate President Pro Tempore in January -- the chamber's No. 2 person in leadership. Stine's leadership position gives her a strong voice on numerous issues including the state budget. The arena has lost the presence of one of its strongest legislative supporters in the House with the retirement of Rep. Jim Callahan, D-Wilder. Callahan was Northern Kentucky's voice in House leadership and had advocated for the arena for more than a decade.

Rep. Arnold Simpson, D-Covington, said having Callahan seated at the table where important decisions were made was a plus but noted that his absence doesn't indicate waning support for the arena in the House. On this issue, the Northern Kentucky delegation is united, he said.

Simpson said he predicts the arena will find its way back into another budget.

"The projects merit speaks for itself," Simpson said.

The arena was one of many capital projects put on hold this year by lack of a lawmaker-approved budget. Since July, the state has been operating on an executive spending plan crafted by the governor. The plan could not authorize spending not previously approved by lawmakers or fund capital projects like the arena. Northern Kentucky lawmakers for years now have pushed for a special events arena on the Highland Heights campus.

Lawmakers will take up the issue when they return to Frankfort in February where they are expected to pass a budget -- a task left unfinished in April when House Democrats and Senate Republicans became engaged in a bitter battle over tax reform that still remains unresolved.

In separate budgets, each chamber approved at least $42 million for the NKU arena and another $14 million to expand the Edgewood campus of Gateway Community and Technical College.

Gateway's Edgewood campus needs to grow to house the college's allied health services program, said President Ed Hughes. The college doesn't have the room it needs to house students and may have to set up mobile units in the parking lot to use as classrooms.

"It's pretty critical for us," Hughes said.

Capital projects are only one piece of the state's spending plan. Kentucky's lawmakers will also have to look at the state's Medicaid deficit, tax reform, health insurance for state workers and pay raises for Kentucky's teachers. State Budget Director Brad Cowgill said his office is holding meetings with cabinet heads and comparing the spending plan currently in use with the budget recommendations made by the governor in 2004.

The meetings are to set the "governor's budget priorities so that he can have a leadership role when the Legislature comes back to Frankfort for the purpose of adopting a budget," Cowgill said.

Capital projects also are being reviewed but Cowgill said it was "too early to tell" what projects would be back on the table in 2005.

House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said capital projects for universities would be a priority in this session.

"It is incumbent on us to keep our universities as strong as they can be," Richards said.

Lawmakers from other regions of the state last spring viewed funding for NKU's center with disdain. They characterized it as a basketball arena and argued that other projects should take priority.

It is Simpson's hope that these sentiments aren't repeated in the coming session. "I would hope that everybody from the General Assembly from whatever region they may reside understands it is pivotally important for us to have facilities at NKU to -- provide a facility that is first class so that we can compete on a regional basis."

Editorial: State shares blame for tuition hikes

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported last week that council President Thomas Layzell will ask his staff to prepare recommendations for how the council might assume greater control over setting tuition costs.

While there's no indication this will result in the council assuming total control, any efforts to take away such responsibilities from individual schools is dangerous and, we think, unnecessary.

Denying colleges and universities the ability to set their own tuition would come perilously close to establishing tuition caps, a terrible idea that the legislature has discussed in recent years. It also places the blame squarely on the shoulders of the schools, while ignoring the fact that the state legislature has failed to meet its responsibilities.

Everyone in this state should be concerned about the cost of higher education. If Kentucky is to produce the educated and skilled work force that so many believe is critical to its future prosperity, higher education must remain affordable and accessible.

"There's been, during the last four or five years or so, an increasing reliance on tuition revenues to meet the operating costs of institutions," Layzell told the Courier-Journal. "You can't continue to do that over time and not really raise some questions about access or quality."

Why is this the case? That's the question Layzell and the council should be asking. The answer isn't that colleges and universities are raising tuition out of greed. It's out need.

For the most part, institutions of higher learning have taken to heart the mission to improve quality and grow enrollments. Kentucky universities have increased enrollment by more than 11 percent over the last seven years and by more than 90 percent at community and technical colleges over that same period.

But the state hasn't done its part to keep up with the rapid growth. Higher education has seen stagnant budgets and even cuts to funding.

For example, officials from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System said last year that their budget had been cut four times over a three-year period, resulting in a loss of about $18 million. The budget is more than $60 million below the average of its benchmark states.

When state funding declines, universities have essentially two choices -- lower the quality by increasing class sizes and losing the top professors or increase tuition to cover the difference.

Rather than look to take authority away from schools, the council would have a greater impact by working with the universities and colleges for creative solutions. Gary Ransdell, president of Western Kentucky University, offered a proposal last year to commit to raising tuition by only 5 percent for 2006-08 providing the state committed to restoring funding to adequate levels. When Ransdell made the proposal, WKU had received no new state allocations since 2000.

We hope the council can find some new ideas for controlling the cost of tuition. But the problem won't be solved by focusing on the schools alone while giving the legislature a free pass.

Wayne County Outlook
December 29, 2004

Murray State and SCC collaborate so SCC students can transfer into MSU’s Telecommunications Systems Management Program

Somerset Community College and Murray State University have reached a collaborative agreement, which will allow SCC to provide the first two years of work toward a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology from Murray State. These agreements are sometimes called 2+2 agreements because they allow a student to complete the first two years of a Bachelor’s Degree at a community college and the second two years at a university.

The new transfer agreement between SCC and MSU is just the latest in a growing list of cooperative agreements between SCC and a number of Kentucky public and private universities.

The new transfer agreement between Somerset Community College and Murray State University will allow for an easy transition into MSU’s Telecommunications Systems Management (TSM) baccalaureate program for SCC students. The Telecommunication Systems Management program is an interdisciplinary program drawing on the strengths of the MSU College of Business and Public Affairs as well as the MSU College of Science, Engineering and Technology. The two colleges jointly administer this program. It provides students with a unique opportunity to develop both management and technical expertise in this ever-changing dynamic field.

Upon completion of an Associate Degree in Applied Science in information technology from Somerset Community College, students are eligible to enter the TSM program at MSU with junior class standing. Courses necessary to complete the MSU degree will be taken through Somerset Community College and MSU. Some courses at Somerset Community College are available online, while the complete MSU program is available online. Management skills developed will include finance, marketing, economics, and accounting. Technical skills developed will include local and wide area networking, network security, telephony, and e-commerce.

For more information about an applied science associate degree in information technology from Somerset Community College or the Telecommunications System Management baccalaureate program at MSU, please contact an information technology advisor at Somerset Community College by calling (606) 679-8501 or toll-free at (877) 629-9722.

SCC also has cooperative agreements with Campbellsville University. This agreement allows SCC students to transfer into the CU Criminal Justice Program. Cumberland College and SCC have a similar arrangement for SCC students who want to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management.

SCC has a transfer agreement with Eastern Kentucky University. That agreement includes a number of opportunities for SCC students to transfer their SCC credits to the Industrial Technology Program at EKU. Some of those specific programs are Computer Assisted Design, Architectural Drafting, Mechanical Drafting, Industrial Electronics Technology and Machine Tool Technology.

EKU and SCC also have a transfer agreement in place for students seeking a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education.

The 2+2 agreement with Lindsey Wilson College is in the Human Services Program. Students in this cooperative agreement can also continue at Lindsey Wilson College and work toward a Master’s Degree in Human Services.

The cooperative agreement between SCC and Midway College allows SCC students, who are seeking a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management, Teacher Education or a Bachelor of Science Degree in nursing, to transfer their SCC credits to Midway College.

Somerset Community College is a comprehensive two-year institution of higher education. SCC has campuses in Somerset and London and centers in McCreary, Clinton, and Russell Counties. The website is www.somcc.kctcs.edu. Call for admission and registration information toll free at 1-877-629-9722.

The Sunday Challenger
December 5, 2004

Gateway to Opportunity
Ready To Work Program Sets Women on Career Path

COVINGTON - Second chances don't necessarily fall into your lap at random. They often come along as opportunities and require hard work. Thirty-year-old Charity Bravard recognized when hers arrived and she's making the most of it.

In May, Bravard began work toward her degree in Information Technology through a Gateway Community and Technical College program called Ready to Work. The program assists single mothers with job-hunting skills, short-term training and other services to make them more attractive to prospective employers.

The Ready to Work program is a partnership between the Kentucky Community College System and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and was designed to promote the success of K-TAP, the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program.

Bravard, herself a single mother, found out about the program through the Urban Learning Center, a community-based organization that offers postsecondary education to financially disadvantaged inner-city students. While there she earned a 3.7 GPA and received the Distinguished Scholar Urban Learning Center Scholarship.

"She's been quite a success," said Betty Barrett, Ready to Work Coordinator at Gateway.

Working around Other Issues
For single mothers like Bravard, Ready to Work offers work/study programs with opportunities on and off campus. Students earn $8 per hour and can schedule work around their classes. Parents gain work experience while earning income that does not affect their K-TAP checks. Employers have an opportunity to recruit KCTCS programs and graduates.

Barrett said of the 120 students enrolled in Ready to Work at Gateway, 90 percent of the students are women.

"I think a lot of them want something better for their children than what they've had," Barrett said.

Lisa Stevenson, 26, of Newport went to Gateway six years ago. She was working toward becoming a cosmetologist but had to take time off for health reasons. She's back in school, working in a two-year program to become a registered nurse.

"I got the opportunity through the K-Tap program," Stephenson said.

Like Bravard and Stevenson, 18-year-old Amber Tippitt is participating in the work/study program while studying to become an administrative assistant. She works in Barrett's office, handling administrative tasks. Tippitt, who is a single mother of a young daughter, graduated last year from Holmes High School in Covington.

"She said she wasn't a good student until she had her child," Barrett said about Tippitt, who graduated from Holmes with a 4.0 GPA.

"I dream it and they make it happen," Barrett said about the work the three women do for her.

For individuals who are on K-TAP and are interested in the Ready to Work program, their K-TAP case manager can help them obtain money to assist with transportation and car repairs, childcare, interview/work clothes, school supplies, background checks and drug tests, drivers education, eye glasses, dental and health fees, and license fees for study programs. There is also a $250 graduation bonus available.

For information about K-TAP and the Ready to Work, Work Study Program at Gateway Community and Technical College, call (859) 441-4500.

* As of September 2004 the number of Northern Kentuckians in each county enrolled in the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (K-TAP) were:

Boone
* 210 families
* 129 adults
* 329 children

Campbell
* 561 families
* 339 adults
* 925 children

Kenton
* 888 families
* 484 adults
* 1,473 children

* Statewide enrollment in the program was 32,184 families, 18,821 adults and 51,394 children.

* Medicaid enrollment in Northern Kentucky showed Boone with 6,219, Campbell with 8,505 and Kenton with 16,592.

* Food Stamp Participation in Northern Kentucky:

Boone County
* 1,745 households; 4,338 people; $385,588 funding

Campbell County
* 2,861 households; 6,810 people, $604,492

Kenton
* 6,121 households; 13,878 people; $1,272,624

* Number of Northern Kentucky Children Served in the Child Care Assistance Program:

Boone 783
Campbell 873
Kenton 1,735

The Daily News
January 2, 2005

Plan pushed to make Lynch coal mine tourist attraction

LYNCH — Three decades after the historic coal mine in this Appalachian town played out and shut down, state officials are hoping to revive old Portal 31 as a Disney-like tourist attraction with animatronic miners and underground tours.

“The trend in tourism is this experiential travel,” said George Ward, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Parks. “We’ll show tourists the evolution of coal mining, from the picks and shovels and donkeys in early mining to the high-tech equipment used today.”

Under the plan, the state would take ownership of Portal 31 as well as a coal museum and an inn in nearby Benham, and pick up the costs to make them inviting for tourists.

That would happen as soon as state lawmakers adopt a budget that would cover the operating expenses of the properties, which would be managed and promoted as part of Kingdom Come State Park in Cumberland.

The plan is seen as a last economic hope for a central Appalachian town that never recovered from the shutdown of a mine. At its peak, some 3,000 people worked in Portal 31, and it was the linchpin of a bustling town of 10,000 people from 30 different countries. Today, it’s home to a graying population of about 1,000.

Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Community College and head of a committee that oversees the Portal 31 project, said the components of an authentic tourist destination are already in place – most of the houses, stores, schools and churches built by coal companies in Lynch and nearby Benham and Cumberland are still standing.

Old men who still live in the towns are happy to tell visitors stories about what life was like when every able-bodied man in Lynch had a good-paying job in Portal 31. Women share what it was like to stay at home worrying while husbands and sons toiled so far underground.

Bob Lunsford, a retired miner who worked about 42 years in and around Portal 31, tells visitors how, in 1917, the U.S. Steel Coal and Coke Co. bought 40,000 acres and formed Lynch, which was named in honor of the company’s first president, Thomas Lynch. He tells them that over a 40-year span, more than 1 million tons of coal per year passed through Portal 31, and that Lynch’s tipple – the place coal is loaded onto rail cars – was the largest in the world when it was built in 1920.

Benham, hit just as hard as Lynch by the mine closings, has turned an old company school into an inn, and a former store into a coal mining museum to try to capitalize on tourism. Those, too, would go into the state park system, under the plan Ward is touting.

Some 30,000 people a year visit the coal museum, and Lunsford expects just as many to plunk down $5 each to tour the coal mine after historical exhibits are built inside.