GODFREY - Residents and Businesses of Lewis and Clark Community College, District 536 (The 2,000 square mile region including parts of 7 counties: Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Morgan, & Scott IL)

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RE: Community Call to Action Needed on the Contract Renewal of Lewis and Clark Community College President, Dr. Dale Chapman

Dear Residents and Businesses of Lewis and Clark Community College, District 536:

On October 8th, the Lewis and Clark Community College (LCCC) Board of Trustees will decide whether or not to renew President Dr. Dale Chapman’s contract which ends at the conclusion of this fiscal year. The RiverBend Growth Association (RBGA) supports its renewal and strongly urges the LCCC board of trustees to vote accordingly during the October 8th meeting when the topic will be up for consideration. We invite you, the residents and businesses in the 7-county area that encompasses the college’s taxing district, to join us and contact the LCCC trustees in the coming days and voice your own support.

The RBGA serves as the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development agency for the municipalities in Madison and Jersey counties, which make up the Riverbend, and counts nearly 650 businesses, organizations and community leaders in its membership. We are invested in LCCC’s continued success and strongly believe its continued growth depends on the reappointment of Dr. Chapman as president. Since he was hired in 1992, Dr. Chapman has been directly responsible for establishing LCCC as one of the premier, 2-year higher education institutions in Illinois.

Through LCCC’s GED, adult education and technical skills program, associate degree programs and certificates in 40 career paths, LCCC annually educates 13,000 students who many of our members later hire, and additionally offers a variety of programs accessible to the almost 220,000 residents in the district. Based on publicly available data and analysis for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-2015, LCCC represents 4.7% of the regional economy and has an overall economic impact of $369.4 million on our community. Dr. Chapman has been a catalyst for LCCC’s growth, including significant educational program expansions while impacting businesses, civic organizations and residents in the region through training and job creation.

In addition to the growth of LCCC, Dr. Chapman has been pivotal in the fiscal stewardship of the college, ensuring it operates effectively for its students and faculty and efficiently for District 536 residents and businesses so they are not overburdened by taxes. The strong growth and innovative programs have been achieved by taking advantage of a variety of investment opportunities, such as debt financing for buildings and technology, 70% of which, will be paid off within 10 years. This includes the acquisition and renovation of the N. O. Nelson Campus in Edwardsville which saved

5800 Godfrey Road – BGM Godfrey, IL62035 PH618.467.2280 Fax: 618.466.8289
www.growthassociation.com
and continues to save the Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7 taxpayers millions of dollars each year through joint use of facilities.

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In FY 2015, LCCC’s tax levy rate was 0.7043%, and under the recommendation of Dr. Chapman, in FY 2018 the rate was dropped to 0.6776%. The operating budget of LCCC during FY 2015 was roughly $34 million, but for FY 2018 the operating budget decreased to $32 million cutting over 40 positions. In short, through the recent guidance of Dr. Chapman, the college has provided valuable services to our communities with a lower tax rate and smaller operating budget. In Sept ember alone the college hired five full-time faculty members, began teaching over 1,000 courses, welcomed a visiting artist, hosted an electronic waste collection event, offered several agricultural community events, hosted a regional science symposium, conducted a tornado disaster exercise, welcomed the Illinois Supreme Court to argue two cases at the college and hosted international site visitors from the Swarovski water school.

The above information demonstrates how Dr. Chapman has served as a good fiscal steward for the college, and that he has been fiscally responsible in managing its assets to ensure its stability for years to come. In addition, because of his outstanding management, the college has fulfilled its obligations to educate the region’s students, not overburden the taxpayers, and give the district residents access to unique programs offered through LCCC’s 8 locations in Alton, Bethalto, Carlinville, East Alton, the 100% grant funded East Saint Louis campus, Edwardsville, Jerseyville and, its main campus in Godfrey. As a final point of consideration, in the last 27 years, Dr. Chapman has secured $200 million in grant funding for LCCC, with approximately $40 million in grant funding authorized for LCCC in the FY 2020 state budget. By not renewing Dr. Chapman’s contract, the Board of Trustees will be putting this vital non-local source of funding at risk.

Thousands of you have benefitted from the success of the college under Dr. Chapman’s leadership. We urge you as our fellow residents and businesses in District 536, who are committed to the continued growth and development of our region, to call the LCCC trustees and ask them to renew the contract of President Dr. Chapman so he can continue the tremendous positive impact that LCCC has brought to our region under his leadership. We also invite you to join us at the October 8th Board of Trustees Meeting at 7:00 PM at the Advanced Technology Center in the Trimpe building on the campus of LCCC to voice your support of Dr. Chapman and that they should renew his contract.
The LCCC Board of Trustees can be contacted by phone at the following:

Charles Hanfelder, Assistant Secretary, Trustee since 2019 .........
David Heyen, Board Chair, Trustee since 2017 ............................
Julie Johnson, Vice-Chair, Trustee since 2019 ..............................
Kevin Rust, Secretary, Trustee since 2019 ....................................
pril Tulgetske, Student Trustee ...................................................
Brenda Walker McCain, Trustee since 1999 .................................
Robert Watson, Trustee since 1977 .............................................
Dwight Werts, Trustee since 2009 ...............................................

Thank you in advance for your time and support.
Sincerely the RiverBend Growth Association Board of Directors,
618-920-7064 618-806-5746 618-304-0939 618-406-1632 618-219-0741 618-463-1906 618-372-8441 618-254-6967
5800 Godfrey Road – BGM Godfrey, IL62035 PH618.467.2280 Fax: 618.466.8289
www.growthassociation.com
John Keller, RiverBend Growth Association, RBGA President Rob Schwartz, Community Banker, RBGA Board Chairman Brad Goacher, Alton Memorial Hospital, RBGA Chair Elect John Barnerd, Simmons Hanly Conroy

Thomas Berry, Jr., Jackson Lewis P.C.
Dale Blachford, Community Leader
Greg Caffey, City of Alton
Doug Cobb, Carpenters Local 664
Mayor Rick Eberlin, City of Grafton
Melissa Erker, Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery Mike Fitzgerald, Scheffel Boyle

Mathew Hanley, OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center Pam Heepke, Raifort Commerce Park
Mayor James Hickerson, Village of Hartford
Cody Hinkle, Alton Business Owner

Jennifer Jackson, Helmkamp Construction
Tim Kuebrich, Lake Drive Logistics
Jeff Lauritzen, Country® Financial– Jeff Lauritzen
Mayor Cheryl Maguire, City of Wood River
Mayor Michael McCormick, Village of Godfrey
Dave Miller, St. Louis Regional Airport
Dr. Stephanie Monroe, River Bend Chiropractic
Mayor Barbara Overton, Village of South Roxana
Ajay Pathak, OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center
Scott Reichmann, BarberMurphy Group
Don Retzlaff, Argosy Casino
Mayor Marty Reynolds, Village of Roxana
John Roberts, Roberts Motors
Stan Scott, Illinois American Water Company (retired)
Terry Shewmake, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers #649 Jim Shrader, Community Leader
Mayor Joe Silkwood, Village of East Alton
Sam Stemm, Metroplex Communications, Inc.
Dan St. Peters, St. Peters Hardware and True Value Rental
Denise VonderHaar, The Telegraph
Mayor Brant Walker, City of Alton
Mike Walters, Southern Illinois Employers Association
Dwight Werts, Werts Welding & Tank Services
Mayor Brant Walker, City of Alton
Mayor Alan Winslow, Village of Bethalto
Augie Wuellner, Alton Securities and Asset Advisors

Opinions expressed in this section are solely those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of RiverBender.com or its affiliates. We provide a platform for community voices, but the responsibility for opinions rests with their authors.

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