College to use grant to develop biofuels certificate program

NORTH PLATTE --Mid Plains Community College will receive $150,000 out of a Community Block Job Training grant to train workers for lucrative jobs in the ethanol industry, board members learned Wednesday.

Bruce Dowse, area dean of outreach and training, reported on the grant at the MPCC Board of Governors' meeting Wednesday night at the North Platte Community College campus.

The $1,999,999 grant partners the six community colleges together to begin training for the program. MPCC's portion will be used to develop a Future Fuels Certificate, a certificate program that will begin in Fall 2008.

The program will be available online, on campus and on site, according to Dowse.

In other business, the board approved the purchase of ethanol training equipment, at $84,375, that is funded through a CBJT Ethanol grant.

MPCC is the sub-grantor under the CBJT Ethanol Training Program, with North East Community College as the grantor.

The equipment will be used to meet curriculum needs of the ethanol training program that includes course labs, on-site training for the Center of Enterprise and used as a recruitment tool at career fairs.

Concerning area Foundation funds, the board also directed MPCC President Dr. Michael Chipps to contact representatives of the remaining area foundation funds to establish donor intent and to transfer those funds to North Platte Community College or McCook College Foundations, as requested by the donors. Remaining funds will be brought back to the board in January for discussion.

After adjourning in closed executive session,the board reconvened into regular session and voted to accept the proposed negotiated contract with Mid-Plains Education Association, the teachers union, for 2007-09. The contract will now go back to the representative of the teacher's union for approval.