On November 19, MATC released a big sigh of relief after a unanimous decision saved the school millions of dollars.Germantown had been fighting for a secession from the MATC district, which had it passed, would have cost MATC “$4.67 million in operating levy,” Dr. Darnell Cole, president of MATC, said during the public meeting.

“Clearly we would be faced with tough decisions that would have a severe, negative and lasting impact on all of the students, community members and businesses we currently serve,” Cole said after listing what $4.67 million provides for the college. However, after a 12-0 vote against the secession by the Wisconsin Technical College System State Board, MATC no longer has to worry about those tough decisions.

The loss of revenue would have resulted in cuts in academic support and in special needs support according to Nick Kasprzak, Mequon Campus president. Kasprzak had been to the first public meeting held on November 11. He said that he feels that MATC would have been forced to make cuts in the “unnecessary activities” that MATC offers. Kasprzak spoke on behalf of MATC and was “very happy” with the decision.

Cole explained that MATC currently is involved with many Germantown businesses, schools and community leaders to meet the needs of Germantown residents.

Cole stated that the Mequon Campus is only nine miles from Germantown, which is closer than any of the Moraine Park campuses. He added that after spending millions of dollars expanding the Mequon Campus, MATC has been able to bring some of the more popular programs to this campus. Currently, there are 17 associate degree programs, five technical diploma programs and 23 certificate programs offered at the Mequon Campus, he added.

Cole also stated that more Germantown residents are enrolled at MATC than at Moraine Park. “During the 2007-08 academic year, 65 Germantown residents were full-time MATC students, compared to 15 Germantown residents who were full-time MPTC students,” Cole said.

Cole also explained that MATC offers courses and programs with no exact match to Moraine Park. “Of the 248 full- and part-time students from Germantown who attended MATC last year, 66% were enrolled in programs with no exact match at Moraine Park,” Cole said. He added, “Of the 836 courses taken at MATC by Germantown residents, 74% had no exact match at Moraine Park.”

Cole explained that because of Germantown’s discussion of secession, other communities have also considered leaving their technical college districts. He said that many come to technical colleges for job training.

Cole stated, “This must be our focus, not some kind of forced competition for students and dollars between and among our technical colleges.” Cole said that this competition “threatens our financial stability, our effectiveness and our mission as a state system.