A move to consolidate the administrations of Northwestern Technical College and Coosa Valley Tech in Rome, Ga., would weaken the positive economic impact the Rock Spring college has on Northwest Georgia, some community leaders fear.

The consolidation, to cut costs, would place both the colleges under one administration in Rome, officials said.

“I’m not confident they can achieve the savings without affecting people,” Stan Porter, member of Northwestern Tech’s board of directors, said Wednesday.

“It will affect the employment of individuals. I’m assuming the president will be in Coosa, which is wrong,” said Mr. Porter.

Many technical college officials were just learning of the plan Wednesday.

Northwestern Technical College has been under interim leadership since the February retirement of its president, Ray Brooks, after 22 years at the college.

But Mr. Porter said the college has a major role in helping with the many “great things” going on in Northwest Georgia, such as the potential to tap into business from Chattanooga’s Volkswagen deal.

Moving the leadership 90 miles away to Rome, however, likely would dilute opportunities for those in Northwestern’s service area of Walker, Dade, Catoosa and Chattooga counties, he said.

The president of Coosa Valley Tech, Craig McDaniel, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Mike Light, spokesman for the Technical College System of Georgia, said the merger plan is still evolving, but it could mean combining 14 of the state’s 33 technical colleges into seven schools.

There would be no campus closures, he said, so students would remain at their current locations. It is unclear if there would be any name changes.

Currently, the change is slated to take place in July 2009, officials with Northwestern said.

Mr. Light said the proposal — to help meet a requirement for technical schools to reduce their budgets by 6 percent — could save $3.5 million by eliminating the jobs of some top administrators.

Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said he is opposed to the merger.

He said schools with interim presidents, such as Northwestern where Jeff King took over after Dr. Brooks retired, are being looked at first for the consolidations.

Mr. King said the students are the priority.

“It’s important to note that no community will lose a campus or the economic engine that the college currently provides them today, and very few staff or faculty will be impacted by this change,” he said in prepared comments sent to the Chattanooga Times Free Press in response to questions.

Leaders in Walker and Catoosa counties said they hope Northwestern retains the identity that it had developed over many years. They also said the school’s impact on the area’s economy is great.

Stacy Mauer, president of the Walker County Chamber of Commerce, said the college’s graduates and its faculty are very active in her county.

“Some of the best leadership in the community comes from that college,” she said. “I would hate to see anything from an administration standpoint be take away from this community.”

Mr. Light said job losses will be kept at a minimum, and he hopes employees will be shifted into other roles within the system.

“This is only going to affect some administration,” Mr. Light said. “This is good business sense. People shouldn’t be concerned about their jobs.”

Sen. Mullis said he had been told no jobs would be lost.

The consolidation is an effort to comply with Gov. Sonny Perdue’s mandate that technical colleges, like all other state government agencies, cut budgets to help deal with the state’s $1.6 million funding deficit.

Bert Brantley, a spokesman for Gov. Perdue, said the governor supports the technical college system and will be pleased to see any plan that maintains its high level of commitment and service while trimming costs.

Sluggish revenue collections already have forced the state to use $600 million from the reserve fund. If revenues don’t increase, cuts up to 10 percent are possible, Mr. Light said.

Over the last two decades, technical schools have worked to gain distinct and respected identities.

According to The Associated Press, standardizing the quality of programs, renovating facilities and upgrading equipment helped some technical institutions expand and flourish.

Northwestern has grown rapidly in recent years, added buildings, revived its automotive program, implemented sports programs, and in 2007 made plans to develop up 70 additional acres of campus.

Names have been changed to convey that technical institutions are more than just an alternative to a traditional four-year college.

In 2000, Northwestern Technical Institute was renamed Northwestern Technical College. In earlier years the school was named Walker Technical Institute. Mr. King said the decision regarding another name change as a result of consolidation would be made at the local level.

Mr. Light said the consolidation will benefit students and not hurt Northwestern’s positive impact on Northwest Georgia.

But not everyone is sure of that, and reaction so far is a mixture of fear and anger, some officials said.

Mr. Porter is concerned it’s an opportunity squandered.

“Our community right now is poised to have some growth, piggybacking on what you all have done in Chattanooga,” Mr. Porter said. “I don’t want to see an opportunity at Northwestern lost.”

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