CinState expansion will need corporate help

By Cliff Peale • cpeale@enquirer.com • November
23, 2010

CLIFTON - Assistance from local companies will
be critical to help Cincinnati State Technical &
Community College finance a new campus in
Middletown.

Early projections show it will take several years
for such a campus to break even, Cincinnati
State trustees said Tuesday night, meaning
grants and contracts with local companies will
have to fill that gap.

"I want to go to Butler County but I don't want to
go into a money pit we can't get out of," trustee
Bob McKenna said.

Dan Cayse, vice president of strategic initiatives,
said finding corporate partners is critical.

"We're going to have to get those partners
involved and find a way to offset those
expenditures," he said.

The community college is negotiating a deal to
start a campus in Middletown, including
operating the Manchester Inn hotel and
conference center. The plan calls for Middletown
to issue bonds to renovate at least three
downtown buildings, with Cincinnati State lease
payments paying off the bonds.

The two sides say they haven't negotiated the
capital costs but that they probably would be
less than $20 million. Trustees did not authorize
a contract during the meeting Tuesday night.

Cincinnati State needs the Middletown campus
to be self-supporting as it tries to provide for its
record enrollment this year. It has enrolled

11,458 students during the current late fall term.

During the first four months of the fiscal year,
revenue from tuition has increased by more than
$4 million but expenses for instruction have
grown by $1.5 million, compared to the same
period last year.

Trustees also said:

They would try to alter the plans for
reconstruction of Interstate 75 to accommodate
potential expansion of the Brent Spence Bridge.
Current plans would eliminate key access to and
from I-74 and I-75, access used daily by nearly
half of the college's students and professors.

They expressed concern about state budget cuts.
Cincinnati State President O'dell Owens said he's
asked units on campus to plan for state-subsidy
cuts of up to 15 percent.

He said that makes ventures such as the
Middletown campus even more important.

"We're going to need new revenue streams," he
said. "There's just no doubt about it."