The funding would be bundled with a $5 million Cass County contribution, $800,000 from the city of West Fargo, $1.5 million from the Fueling Our Future organization and almost $11.5 million in private investments from 52 private sector companies and organizations.
The federal grant of possibly $5 million, perhaps more, would come from special coronavirus funding available this year from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Authority to help in economic recovery.
Academy supporters told the commissioners that timing was of the essence as they hoped to submit the grant application to the regional economic development office in Denver this week. Before doing that, they needed to show support and matching funds, and that competition for the funding was expected to be very strong.
Mayor Tim Mahoney and commissioners John Strand and Arlette Preston were in support of the funding, with Strand adding that he would only support it if the project obtains a federal grant.
A decision is expected by September or October.
Commissioners Tony Gehrig and Dave Piepkorn opposed the measure as they were concerned about the city approving the funding outside of the budget process and about overall city finances because of the coronavirus.
“This is a tax increase for our residents,” Gehrig said, adding that he also strongly opposed approving funding for the project outside of the budget cycle.
Gehrig said workforce development is a “fantastic idea” but worried about tax increases and if the academy would overlap with other programs offered at other regional schools.
Piepkorn also asked if the commission could make a multiyear commitment. City Attorney Erick Johnson said the city could do longer-term pledges or contracts.
Mahoney said the $300,000 per year could fit into the budget that the city is currently working on for next year.
North Dakota State College of Science President John Richman, who made the pitch to the commissioners, said a better-trained workforce would help local private companies expand and allow Fargo to attract new businesses.
“The need has never been greater,” he said, explaining that Fargo Superintendent of Schools Rupak Gandhi calls the academy more of a “workforce development center.”
Richman said the academy model is “proven” and would serve K-12 schools, high school graduates working on their associate’s degrees, and New Americans in the Cass County and elsewhere. It could also help retrain unemployed older adults during the pandemic, he said.
Richman said he hoped for a long-term partnership with the private sector in providing internships, developing a curriculum, arranging employee classroom visits and providing options for students.
As for Gehrig’s question about overlapping with other schools, Richman said they don’t plan to duplicate programs but that there is a need for more training in existing programs such as health sciences.
In a letter to commissioners, Richman said the planned building in south Fargo would be separated into spaces organized around career clusters of agriculture, transportation, construction, finance, marketing and information technology.
Preston said she thought the academy would take technical education and workforce development locally to the “next level.”
If the federal grant isn’t obtained, Strand said the City Commission could take a look at other ways to help finance the project.
It was noted that county school districts and NDSCS would fund the operational costs of the facility, estimated at $600,000 a year.
However, the schools felt as if they couldn’t help with the building as it would serve adult learners also.
