RIDGWAY – The North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and
Development Commission’s executive board on Wednesday heard an
update on the sale of ITEC.
In December, the board voted 10 to 2 to close the school and try
to sell it, with Elk County Commissioner Christine Gavazzi and
Cameron County Commissioner Tony Moscato opposing the motion.
Then in January, ITEC – a tuition-based education facility with
headquarters in Ridgway – received a reprieve thanks to an infusion
of up to $200,000 from the Workforce Investment Board. That allowed
the school to stay open until the end of the semester, which will
allow students to graduate as scheduled.
North Central Executive Director Eric Bridges said the powdered
metal die setting program at ITEC will end March 13 and a new
program will not start.
“We simply can’t do it,” he said. The teacher, Jack Kelly, will
be let go at that time.
The board also held a brief discussion over a graduation
ceremony for the students. Gavazzi would like one held because it’s
important to the families and students to have their accomplishment
recognized.
“We continue to take be pretty proactive and aggressive with our
marketing and sales approach,” Bridges said.
There are several entities who are interested in expanding their
involvement in this area. That has been the goal of North Central
since the decision was made to close the school; officials want to
see it continue.
“I would like to be able to turn the keys over to somebody,”
Bridges added. “That’s how we approach it. I continue to be very
optimistic.”
Also let go from ITEC was the evening housekeeping person, Rose
Mary Wiley, whose job was eliminated, effective Feb. 16. The
savings will amount to $5,000 to $6,000 for the year, officials
said.
The school is being cleaned and maintained by the regular North
Central maintenance crew. The instructors keep their shop areas
clean.
Meanwhile, the agency received letters of support from the
Borough of Ridgway, Ridgway Township and state Rep. Dan Surra,
D-Kersey, who all want to see the school stay in the area.
ITEC is fully licensed through the Pennsylvania Department of
Education’s Division of Private Licensed Schools. Three ITEC
programs offer an associate in specialized technology degree.
The executive board had been debating the issue of what to do
with ITEC for the better part of a year and the financial condition
had continued to deteriorate since then. The building is worth
approximately $3 million. The school has been operating in the red
for quite a while.
The school began in 1986 and was called the Six County Regional
Skill Center and had only one machinist program. In 1989, powdered
metal was in demand with die setting. In 1997, the school submitted
for accreditation and became ITEC. It moved into the current
building in 1998 and since then has added welding and electronics
programs. An LPN program was also recently added.
The next executive board meeting is slated for 9:30 a.m. March
28 at the North Central offices.
