Lewis-Clark chief seeks state money for new center

BOISE – The president of Lewis-Clark State College told lawmakers Tuesday that the school is in the midst of a revival: Enrollment is up after an almost decadelong decline, a new $15 million activity center just opened and the Coeur d’Alene program is booming.

But Dene Thomas said Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s recommendation that the state not pay $317,000 in occupancy costs for the new activity center would put a severe crimp in the LCSC budget.

“It’s a very big deal for us and a small amount for (the state),” Thomas said after her presentation to the House Education Committee. “It represents a major difference in our budget.”

The governor didn’t include paying for occupancy costs, which includes maintenance and utility fees, for campus buildings built in the past two years as part of a statewide bonding program. He did, however, recommend paying occupancy costs for the Idaho State University Stephens Performing Arts Center, which was built with private funds, and the University of Idaho’s Water Center in Boise.

The burden will go to the faculty or to the students if LCSC has to pay the occupancy costs, said Rep. Mike Mitchell, D-Lewiston. “Besides those two groups, the school doesn’t have any place to turn. … It’s unfair to do that.”

The 3,800-seat activity center, which is home to LCSC’s basketball teams, was dedicated by the governor Jan. 6.

Jeff Youtz, director of the legislative budget office, said some legislators have expressed a desire to help LCSC with the costs, largely because the school depends more on direct state appropriations than the other state colleges.

LCSC is “unique in its poverty,” Mitchell said. “There are no (graduate) or doctoral programs to lean on, and the alumni base doesn’t give a whole lot.”

Yet enrollment is up 23 percent since the fall of 2000, Thomas said. That upswing has been seen at the Lewiston-based college’s Coeur d’Alene program as well, which has created a lack of space.

“It’s a wonderful problem to have,” said Thomas, adding that there are 370 students at the Coeur d’Alene campus who will transition to LCSC after two years at North Idaho College.

“Our goal is to have a seamless transition from NIC to L-C,” she added. “And for that to happen, we need more space.”

LCSC offers six baccalaureate programs in Coeur d’Alene including degrees in business administration, communications, nursing and justice studies.

Most of the evening classes are held at NIC, but the enrollment boom at that school has led to more problems. So the college is looking at alternate space for classrooms, Thomas said.

The city of Coeur d’Alene has agreed to let LCSC use space at City Hall. And the college also rents space from The Idaho Spokesman-Review and offices from the University of Idaho at the Harbor Center.

“We are renters, not buyers,” Thomas said. “We know we can’t afford to buy a building, but we are committed to offering programs in Coeur d’Alene.”