Ray Richardson
HANCOCK COUNTY – As officials shape the vision for an education and training facility in the county, they often recall how past efforts in a similar vein have failed.
That admission is usually followed by an emphasis that it’s different this time around due to the significant cooperation, enthusiasm and investment involved.
Others in the community aren’t so sure, as voiced at recent county government meetings and in letters and comments to the Daily Reporter. With more public funds being allocated toward the initiative and total cost estimates amounting to tens of millions of dollars, some of those skeptics are urging leaders to pay closer attention to lessons from the past.
Those behind plans for the Hancock County Innovation and Education Center see it serving students in ninth grade through post high school seeking career and technical education. Space for employers to provide training to their workforces and a conference center are also part of plans for the project.
Among those involved in the endeavor are Hancock County’s four school corporations, Hancock Regional Hospital, county government officials, Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University, as well as The Veridus Group, an Indianapolis-based consulting firm hired to assist.
Cost estimates range from $38 million to $63 million, depending on how big the facility is, with recommendations ranging from 100,000 to 140,000 square feet. While a precise location has yet to be determined, those involved in the project are eyeing the area near CR 200W and CR 300N.
Past pushes
Ray Richardson, who served as county attorney for 50 years, encouraged officials to think more about the adult education component of the initiative at a Hancock County Council meeting last month. He pointed to past similar attempts made in the county dating back from the 1990s to more recently that didn’t pan out due to not gaining enough interest.
“This idea sounds really great,” Richardson said. “It is, however, dependent upon students actually coming to the classes.”
One of those efforts was called the Alliance for Community Education, or ACE, which started in the 1990s.
Dianne Osborne, former director of the Hancock County Public Library, was involved in that initiative’s beginnings. Other participants included representatives from the hospital, local businesses and schools, she recalled.
ACE’s objective, Osborne continued, was to partner with a university or educational institution to bring classes to adult, non-college students to help them fill gaps in their personal enrichment but also to help fill area employment needs. Organizers wanted to take advantage of the internet, which was ramping up at the library at the time, as was its computer lab.
“It was all about what technology and the future technology could do to educate people, but it was never about bricks and mortar,” Osborne said.
She recalled student participation starting out small but said the initiative found success with Vincennes University.
ACE eventually came to an end, however, and by that time Osborne’s involvement had lessened, leaving her unaware of the specific reasons for its dissolution.
Osborne said she has concerns over the county’s latest adult education efforts, including what she feels is a lack of attention toward past attempts.
“You don’t start a new project without getting some historical perspective,” she said. “…It’s about building from the ground up and what has happened before, what has been tried, what worked, what didn’t work, and I don’t think any of those questions are being asked.”
Library learning
Another example of past local adult education offerings is Vincennes University bringing its Learning Unlimited program to the Hancock County Public Library in 2010. David Tucker, vice president of workforce development and community services for Vincennes University, told the Daily Reporter in an email that VU provided in-person academic tutoring and advising to students of all ages at a number of public libraries in central Indiana. The program was funded through a grant from the Indiana State Library.
When the grant expired, Hancock County’s library and VU chose not to continue to fund the tutors/advisors themselves, Tucker said. He added VU has subsequently shifted to online tutoring and advising system wide.
A report detailing Learning Unlimited’s last full year at the library – 2019 – called Hancock County its “most successful location.” Since starting in the county, 94 students took nearly 2,700 credit hours, translating to roughly 900 classes taken at the library, according to the report. As of the document’s completion, 27 students acquired degrees through the partnership in Greenfield.
“We have fully cycled through our original group of students, which often take much longer to complete their degrees because they are also working full time, but the initial group had an astonishing graduation rate of close to 70%,” the report states.
At the time of the report’s release, there were 11 active students in Greenfield taking 102 credit hours.
Dave Gray, director of the Hancock County Public Library, said the library had been in talks right before the COVID-19 pandemic with Ivy Tech Community College about offering in-person classes, but that the novel coronavirus interrupted those plans. He said it would have been about one class per semester and offerings would have consisted of basic, popular classes.
Tucker said Vincennes University is excited about the prospect of the Hancock County Innovation and Education Center.
“Amalgamating many of the education and training needs of K-12, adults, and businesses county-wide may just provide the critical mass for sustainable programming,” he said in his email. “Plus, it will provide access to the best available training and education partners for any particular area of training. As to VU, we believe that we are very well suited to provide high school dual credit, work-based learning opportunities, and industry training at the center.”
‘Major differences’
Harold Olin, superintendent of Greenfield-Central Schools, recalled Ivy Tech offering evening classes at Greenfield-Central High School, something that ended about 15 years ago. He described the offerings as generally entry-level courses in subjects like English language arts and math. Olin said he envisions educational institutions involved in the planned Hancock County Innovation and Education Center offering classes like that if the demand is there, but thinks they’d also offer more opportunities related to getting certifications that would help participants in jobs they already have.
“I have heard some of that skepticism, though I can tell you there is a lot of positive traction here,” Olin said, noting the support from elected officials, large employers and all four public school corporations. “Yes, people could make that point that similar items have been tried in the past, but nothing quite as unique as what we’ve been talking about for the last year.”
Bill Bolander joined the innovation and education center’s steering committee during his time on the Hancock County Council and continues to serve on the committee. He was part of the county council that allocated $100,000 toward the initiative’s efforts last year with plans for $125,000 more. The Hancock County Redevelopment Commission also plans to contribute $125,000. Additionally, the initiative has received $1.4 million from a state grant program and Hancock Regional Hospital is leading a fundraising campaign with a $50,000 goal.
“There’s some major differences, in my opinion,” Bolander said of the innovation and education center and past adult education initiatives in the county.
He feels that former tries, some of which he was also involved in, focused more on adult education and high school equivalency. The innovation and education center, he continued, would also have a strong presence of high school students pursuing career and technical education.
Bolander noted Hancock County high school students often have to go to career centers outside of the county.
“This will be great for high school students who are pursuing a career in the trades, as well as adults,” he said.
He sees the facility housing programs for certifications in skills like welding and operating forklifts. It will serve the surge of logistics operations in the western part of the county, he continued, adding he envisions many of those companies being involved in the innovation and education center as well.
“Since we’re bringing these companies in, we have to help train a workforce to make it valuable for both them and us,” he said.
Bolander recalled recently touring the progress of Walmart’s fulfillment center in the county and noted the presence of robotics.
“It’s just amazing what’s in there, and to train people for that kind of job is essential for what all we’re getting here,” he said.
He addressed what kind of county funds would see the facility through its development as well. Much of Hancock County’s western development is in one of the county’s tax increment financing districts, which collect property taxes from new development to benefit the districts. Money that would fund the creation of the innovation and education center would come from those businesses’ tax funds, he noted, rather than taxes residents pay.
“I think it’s just some people that don’t truly understand the scope of what we need and what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said of the recent criticism.
