RethinkErie

It's the real deal. Thanks to table games, Erie has a fresh chance to create a community college, with enough money to pay for it and sufficient time to do it right.

State Sen. Jane Earll, of Fairview, R-49th Dist., came up with the brilliant idea to use a small part of the table-games tax to provide steady funding for a new community college. The rest of the tax will go to the state.

In the state House, Democrats Pat Harkins, Flo Fabrizio and John Hornaman and Republicans Curt Sonney and John Evans voted in favor of the legislation. This bipartisanship by legislators from urban, suburban and rural areas shows that the community college has regional appeal.

Legislators elsewhere in the state also liked the idea of setting aside 2 percent of the state tax for local projects. Some criticized the local share as a way for lawmakers to back pet projects, but it's hard to argue with the idea when this new pot of money will help such diverse institutions as the Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, the Convention and Visitor Bureau of Greater Monroeville and Lower Bucks Hospital near Philadelphia.

The 2 percent share here is expected to generate $1.5 million to $2 million annually to pay for the community college. Erie County Executive Barry Grossman and Mary Bula of Rethink Erie are confident that this will be enough money to cover college costs.

If the money, which will be put into a special account, isn't used by 2014, it will go for revolving loans for municipal infrastructure projects. This four-year window gives college supporters time to figure out which entity will sponsor the college application and where the college will be located. As supporters have stressed many times, the college will likely use existing buildings, instead of being built from scratch. Reuse is a smart way to conserve resources and save money.

Bula, vice president of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership and a member of Rethink Erie's leadership team, said that Rethink Erie will have a business plan done by early February and an economic impact study by late March or early April. Hard numbers in these reports can help to sway the skeptics who question the cost of starting the college and the payback the community will receive.

It's not too early to think about additional funding sources for the college, including endowments and grants. Community College Times reported recently that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation had awarded $3.78 million to seven cities to boost college graduation rates; the money is being directed to community colleges with partnerships. Wouldn't it be nice for Erie to tap into that type of funding in the next four years or for a generous local benefactor to create his or her legacy with the college?