Ray Brooks, the former president of Northwestern Technical College, is afraid his life’s work soon will be destroyed.

The potential merger of administrations from Northwestern Tech and Coosa Valley Technical College in Rome, Ga., has drawn mixed reactions, and from some officials forced silence.

But Dr. Brooks, who retired in February after 22 years as president, said he cannot stay quiet about the school he loves and a decision not in the best interests of Walker, Dade, Catoosa and Chattooga counties.

“I have spent my entire adult life working there at Northwestern to build an institution that is totally focused on the continuing development and growth of those four counties,” he said about the college’s service area.

“In one fell swoop, in a knee-jerk reaction to a short-term problem, they are destroying the ability of that region to compete effectively in economic development,” Dr. Brooks said.

The merger is a cost-cutting measure, according to Mike Light, a spokesman for the Technical College System of Georgia.

Of the state’s 33 technical colleges, 14 have been selected for possible merger in seven schools and eliminating the cost of seven administrations.

Mr. Light said consolidating the colleges under one administration in Rome, since Northwestern currently has an interim president, is a step toward making the 6 percent budget cuts the Technical College System is aiming to achieve. Cuts among all state agencies are an effort to compensate for a state funding shortfall that has passed $1.6 billion.

Bob Berry, chairman of Coosa Valley’s board of directors, said he and his colleagues are still learning about the proposal.

But Mr. Light said the plan is not actually laid out on paper.

Mr. Berry said he is optimistic the merger will be beneficial.

“If you put two strong schools together, you’d like to think the sum would be stronger than the two parts,” he said.

Craig McDaniel, president of Coosa Valley Tech, said Friday the final decisions have not yet been made.

He said no matter what decision is made, though, he is “a company man” and will strive to make the situation work for the best.

Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said Wednesday he is opposed to the merger, and he said the technical colleges that had vacancies in the president’s office were those being targeted first.

Jeff King is interim president at Northwestern. He took that post in February when Dr. Brooks ended his 22 years of leadership.

James L. Lester, a member of Coosa Valley’s board, said each of the schools has a president and vice president and the consolidation may eliminate those jobs at some targeted schools.

The school without a president on site will have a provost, officials said.

Mr. Light said the proposal could save $3.5 million by eliminating the jobs of some top administrators across the system.

Mr. King and Dr. Craig both said they will work together to make sure the students and each community’s economic development are not adversely affected by consolidation.

Currently, the change is slated to take place in July 2009, and Dr. Craig said officials have already been working with the Southern Associations of Colleges and Schools on accreditation issues.

“The board — they are our governing agency,” Dr. Craig said about the merger. “Once the state board made that decision, it is not a situation where you want to question that decision.”

Dr. Brooks, though, now president at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, S.C., is questioning the decision, and how it was made. He said there could be immeasurable repercussions.

“They may be saving a little money but, what are the long-term costs to the community?” he said. “They may be incalculable.”

Members of the state board of the Technical College System contacted Friday by the Times Free Press did not immediately return calls.

Mr. Lester, the Coosa Valley board member, said he hopes the consolidation is positive in the long run, but he said the move “can’t help” Coosa Valley Tech.

State Rep. Jay Neal, R-LaFayette, said ideally Northwestern should have its own president to set the vision and lead the college.

He said state revenues are well below projections, though, and spending cuts in many areas are necessary.

“I can tell you what I will be advocating for,” Rep. Neal said, “for this being a temporary solution.”

Mr. Light said that isn’t an option.

“It is going to be done,” the Technical College System spokesman said. “It makes sense. You don’t unmerge.”

Many officials said they hope that once the initial shock wears off, and more information is unveiled, worries about the merger will subside.

But Dr. Brooks is adamant.

“This is going to be a dark day for Northwest Georgia,” he said. “This is the wrong move, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons.”

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