2 schools urged to join forces

Crowley’s Ridge leaders balk at state-proposed merger

A map showing the location of East Arkansas Community College and Crowley’s Ridge Technical Institute.
A map showing the location of East Arkansas Community College and Crowley’s Ridge Technical Institute.

FORREST CITY -- Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute has fought a merger twice in more than two decades.

And the vocational-technical school won both times.

But the state is knocking again. And this time, one of the last two vocational-technical schools standing in Arkansas might meet its match.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson is pushing for the merger of the institute with its next-door Forrest City neighbor, East Arkansas Community College. Combining the schools would be more efficient, creating one institution that would provide students more courses and services and easier access to transfer, Hutchinson and an aide said.

"It will strengthen the programs that are offered to the students," Hutchinson said at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce earlier this week. "And it is about the students. It increases the offerings in technical education as well as two-year degrees. It increases the opportunities for the students to have access to scholarships."

But opponents of the merger are afraid the state may not stay true to its word. They also say the cost of attendance will increase for their students, many of whom are from low-income families. And, they ask, if it isn't broken, why fix it?

The two schools are nestled right off Interstate 40 on New Castle Road in Forrest City. Each has its own entrance not even a mile apart. The properties sit right next to each other, not even separated by a fence.

"If you stood in the middle, you could throw a rock and knock out a window in either direction," said Fredric Smith, the board chairman of Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute. "They're that close."

As the green banners around campus say, East Arkansas Community College has been "serving the Arkansas Delta since 1974." The school opened its doors at a temporary building in downtown Forrest City to 684 students. In December of that year, the school's officials got the go-ahead to construct 11 buildings for $1.5 million at its current site.

Crowley's Ridge got its start in 1966.

As neighbors, each school has expanded several times over the years.

Now, Crowley's Ridge -- which falls under the state Department of Career Education -- is home to about 250 students in 18 vocational-technical programs and an Adult Education Program in a nearly 73,000-square-foot area. And East Arkansas Community College -- which is under the state Department of Higher Education umbrella -- has 1,200 students enrolled in 27 vocational-technical and allied health programs and 16 associate degree programs in a renovated or new space.

"We can co-exist side by side because we serve two different purposes," said David Brown, the interim president and supervisor of instruction at Crowley's Ridge.

In 1991, state legislators passed a law allowing vocational-technical schools to become technical or community colleges. The state's higher education leaders had reviewed the existing vocational-technical schools to see what each institution had to do to carry out the change.

At the time, the majority of the vocational-technical schools followed suit, said Brett Powell, director of the state's Higher Education Department. And eyes were on the others, including Crowley's Ridge and East Arkansas.

"For Crowley's Ridge, in particular, they were opposed to the merger of the two institutions, and they were strong enough to be able to prevent it from happening," Powell said. "It's been that way since the early '90s."

Nearly a decade later, the state's remaining vocational-technical schools were under the microscope again.

In 2001, the late state Sen. Jodie Mahony, a Democrat out of El Dorado, tried for the second time to merge the two institutions. When that failed, Crowley's Ridge officials thought that was the end of it.

But in July, longtime Crowley's Ridge President Burl Lieblong stepped down from the helm, and the talk of merging resurfaced.

"I think, first and foremost, it's sort of catching up with the times, merging these two institutions," said J.R. Davis, the governor's spokesman, who added that vocational or technical education bolsters the state's economy. "People graduate with a skill set. But this is an efficiency."

Like other state agencies -- not including higher education institutions -- Crowley's Ridge is under a hiring freeze that was instituted when Hutchinson took office in January. The school currently has five vacant positions.

A merger of the two institutions would need approval from three boards: East Arkansas Community College, Crowley's Ridge and the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A national accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission, also would need to give the green light and review the newly merged institution. Currently, Crowley's Ridge is accredited by the commission of the Council on Occupational Education.

"It will be fought is all I can say," Brown said. "You gon' take it away with us kicking and screaming. We're not going quietly."

At Crowley's Ridge, students take hands-on courses at a cost of $45 per credit hour from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, he said. The majority of the students are eligible for federal Pell grants, which are awarded based on financial need and do not have to be repaid.

In 2014, the school recorded an 80 percent completion rate on programs and a 98 percent licensure-pass rate, he said.

Up the hill, East Arkansas offers technical courses along with general education classes at $82 per credit hour for in-district students, or $92 per credit hour for other in-state students. About a third of its students are enrolled in vocational, technical or allied health programs, the college said.

Of the 334 first-time students entering the college in 2012, 19.2 percent -- or 64 -- graduated in three years. Of those, 20 earned associate degrees and 38 earned technical certificates, Higher Education Department data show.

Crowley's Ridge also provides a pickup service, with employees driving to six counties to get students to class.

"Approximately 40 percent of students come from those vans," Brown said. "They either have no vehicle, don't have a driver's license or don't have any other way to school, and we're providing that."

The vocational-technical school has an agreement with its neighbor for three programs: child care, business and drafting, Brown said. The agreements mean students at Crowley's Ridge can transfer credits to East Arkansas to continue along those career paths.

Should the two institutions merge, the vocational-technical credits could transfer to other institutions more easily, the Higher Education Department said. The students now enrolled at Crowley's Ridge also would be eligible for more financial aid, including the state's lottery scholarships.

The state said there would be no layoffs and no budget cuts. A merger would be just that: bringing two institutions, including their employees and budgets, together, Davis said.

"There's a lot of advantages," said St. Francis County Sheriff Bobby May, who is also chairman of the East Arkansas Community College's board. "It makes a lot of sense to merge. This is not about personalities. It's not about egos. It's about what's best for students and what's best for economic development in this area."

Smith, Crowley's Ridge board chairman, said that if he were to vote on the matter now, he would vote no.

"I think with the right conversations and the right thought processes about a merger, I think it could work," he said. "However the situation has gone down, there has to be some communication. I think that's been the setback and hold back. The way this all transpired from the start, there was very little proper conversation to bring us to a point to even consider it. We really started off on the wrong foot."

The leaders of the board and the college have yet to meet to talk about the possibilities. Coy Grace, the president of East Arkansas, said he would be open to starting the conversation.

Hutchinson acknowledged the community's resistance to the merger.

"They've got to vet this," he said. "They've got to think about it. So let's just take it a step at a time. I think as time will go, they will recognize the benefit of it to the students."

Information for this report was contributed by Scott Morris of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Metro on 11/14/2015

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