Allen County Community College officials touted their school’s efficiencies, while reminding Sen. Jerry Moran Friday that federal funding for technical education has become increasingly hard to come by as the country’s economy continues to struggle.
Moran, a Hays Republican, was in Iola as part of a tour of a handful of southeast Kansas communities Friday.
Bill Maness, a Moran aide and former Iola mayor, suggested the college farm be the greeting point because it touches on two areas of interest for the senator: agriculture and education.
Moran serves on agriculture and education appropriations subcommittees.
John Masterson, ACCC president, relayed the school’s concerns regarding federal funding, including anticipated cuts in federal Pell grants for students to attend college, and the recent loss of federal Carl D. Perkins vocational education grants.
While ACCC’s enrollment has grown for 10 consecutive years, a slightly lower enrollment last year coincided with federal cuts in Perkins grant money.
The net result, Masterson said, was that in order for ACCC to continue to receive Perkins grant funds, it must either grow its enrollment once again or join a consortium of other schools.
“It’s just hard to get a hold of some of those federal funds unless you’re a fairly large college,” Masterson said.
“We’d just as soon see our enrollment grow so that we can get the Perkins money directly,” Trustee Larry Manes told the senator.
Moran agreed that technical education was an important source of income for colleges, including schools like Allen County in rural areas, because it teaches students specific job-related skills.
Students in general studies tend to continue their schooling at four-year universities, which leads those students away from their hometowns.
Removing the emphasis from career and technical skills is to the detriment of places like Allen County, Moran said.
“Part of what got me interested in politics to begin with was because life in Kansas has a special meaning,” Moran said, in which neighbors are friendly and respectful of others, and most value hard work, particularly in rural areas, such as those in southeast Kansas.
“I want to do what I can to keep that mindset around for another generation,” Moran said.
Moran served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 17 years, representing mostly rural areas in the western two-thirds of the state before being elected last November to replace Sam Brownback in the U.S. Senate.
MASTERSON took time to laud ACCC’s farm, situated on about 250 acres, eight of which are dedicated with row crops as an educational tool. Students also tend to about 30 head of cattle.
While other community colleges have similar ag programs, Masterson said Allen County’s was likely the only one in which students were housed on the farm itself.
As the number of farmers continues to plummet across the state, ACCC has taken the initiative to increase training in specialized areas, Masterson said.
“There are so many different aspects of farming, we want to make sure students are trained for who knows what will come along,” Masterson said.
Masterson also noted that Allen County’s annual budget of about $11 million equates to about $5,500 for each full-time equivalent (FTE) student, or just more than half of the average for Kansas’ other community colleges ($9,900).
In addition, ACCC’s property tax levy of 17 mills is the third lowest of 19 community colleges, while the county’s assessed valuation is fourth lowest in the state.
“That’s not a good combination,” Masterson said, noting that fewer tax dollars are generated by a single mill when a county’s assessed valuation is down.
Masterson also noted ACCC’s designation as a “military friendly” school by the Kansas National Guard is reflective of Allen County’s desire to provide schooling to guardsmen and other military personnel for career opportunities.
