Bidwell Training Center graduates 190
By Bill Vidonic
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Before the economic downturn hit Pennsylvania in the past few years, the state Legislature appropriated little more than $5 million annually to the Bidwell Training Center.
After Gov. Tom Corbett's announcement of extensive cutbacks in state education funding this year to help cover a $4.2 billion shortfall, there's no money allocated for the North Side training center.
"The Legislature's got to step up," Manchester Bidwell Corp. President and CEO Bill Strickland said Saturday, shortly before the training center held a graduation ceremony for 190 students.
One man who could decide the training center's fate, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, was the keynote speaker for the graduation ceremony in the Rodef Shalom Synagogue in Oakland. He said he hoped to find a way to restore funding.
"We will take a look at the budget and see what we can do to possibly allocate more money," Scarnati said. "We'll see if we can reshuffle the decks."
Students graduated with degrees including chemical laboratory technician, culinary arts, medical, and office technology.
Scarnati said Corbett, a Republican from Shaler, set a $27.3 billion budget and does not want to raise taxes. "That's something that's not really debatable," Scarnati said.
The Corbett administration has come under fire for its proposed cuts in basic and higher education. The state House has proposed restoring some of the funding cuts, taking money from welfare funding increases in Corbett's budget proposal. State legislators will have an opportunity to make changes to Corbett's budget; the state's fiscal year begins in July.
Scarnati said he likes Bidwell because "the model works directly with employers, teaching what employers want. Students can move right into the workplace."
Strickland said the training center has a graduation rate of between 80 percent and 85 percent, with 70 percent to 90 percent placement.
"We've changed lives here. We want to continue doing it," said Valerie Njie, executive director/senior vice president of the training center.
Marcus Bland, 21, of the North Side is a 2008 Bidwell graduate; he is a manager at an Eat'n Park in Robinson.
"This means the world to me," Bland said of the training center. "First, I'm not in debt because of this, and second, I've been given a chance to do something better with my life."
Bill Vidonic can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 412-480-7306.
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