A proposal to change the name of the state’s tech college network is unnecessary, puts a burden on individual schools and diverts money from educating students, a group of 20 former technical college system presidents say in a letter to Gov. Nathan Deal.
"If a change of name would make a positive impact, would bring additional jobs to Georgia or in any way enhance Georgia's economic health we would gladly support such a move," the retired leaders said in a letter dated February 5, which was obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "However, we feel that there is no evidence whatsoever that this change would add any value to our system or our state."
House Bill 315, sponsored by Rep. Chad Nimmer, R-Blackshear, one of Deal's floor leaders, is scheduled for a House vote on Tuesday. The bill would change the name of the network to the Georgia Career College System. Deal proposed the change last month, saying the new name would attract more students and better reflect the system's actual work.
The renaming, including costs ranging from changing signs and logos to employee decals and parking decals, could cost as much as $14 million, the leaders said in the letter. The group is asking Deal and lawmakers to withdraw the bill.
If millions of dollars are available to make those changes, the leaders said, the money should be used in classrooms and labs helping students.
Gov Deal’s office said he thinks the $14 million estimate is inflated and thinks the name change can be made in the current budget.
The bill applies to the overall name of the current Technical College System of Georgia, but not the system’s 23 individual technical colleges, system commissioner Gretchen Corbin told a House committee last week. System officials will consider changing the school names to career colleges later.
Neither Nimmer nor Corbin could provide lawmakers a rundown of costs to complete the name change, but said expenses would be phased in so no additional funding would be needed. The tech college system has not completed a cost analysis of the name change, officials told the AJC on Monday.
Despite the lack of cost information, the bill easily passed out of committee last week, with only Rep. John Pezold, R-Fortson, voting against it.
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