Gov. vetoes funding for new Lanier Tech

Russell Vandiver, the interim president for Lanier Technical College, said Tuesday that while the veto is a disappointment, it was not unexpected due to the annual funding methodology explained in Governor Perdue’s statement.

He said the state’s 29 technical colleges submit their top priorities for capital investment but only a small number make it on the state agency’s final list submitted to the governor.

He said he is not sure that even the top priority for Lanier Tech — a healthcare building on the Oakwood campus — made it on the list.

But he stressed that Lanier Tech officials are keenly interested in the proposed replacement of the Winder campus.

“We really do feel we have to have a new campus down there,” he said. “That is in our growth plans. It is where we see our potential for future growth, and if we keep working on it, we will get there.

“Our commitment is just as strong to Barrow County. Winder and Barrow County have been very good to Lanier. We’ve just got to find the right formula to get this thing to work.”

Vandiver said the Lanier Technical College Foundation is working on locating land for the campus, and he has appointed a subcommittee to focus on that.

“We are not just sitting back on our heels and waiting. We are actively pursuing it. If somebody has got a deal about giving us property, I promise we will listen to it.”

He said the land would have to be donated to the foundation, which would take ownership and pass it through to the state.

While there have been discussions of multiple potential sites — including at least two off Hwy. 316 and another off I-85 near Braselton — no one has put on the table a written offer to donate the land, Vandiver said.

Asked what would likely determine the location of the new campus, he said “just the fact that it’s free.”

He said Lanier Tech has no money to purchase land, and he is not certain that there is money available at the local level.

“To make this project move forward, there needs to be skin in the game from the local community to drive the project,” he said.

“If the local community has made an investment, it’s easier. Right now, they don’t have any land down there. There’s been no commitment, no land donated to our foundation to have something to go on.”

There has been discussion of a joint project with Barrow County Schools and the Barrow County government, but Vandiver said the plans are not firm.

“If there was something that came along where there was a joint effort between the school system and college, I think we would be very interested in listening to that.

“If you want a campus and have donated land and skin in the game, then you have something you can take out there when you are trying to get something approved in terms of capital outlay.

“It is the position of the technical college system that they want a show of local support for something before going to battle for it, and they want to make sure it is something the community itself wants.”

Asked for her response to the veto, Barrow school superintendent Wanda Creel said only that she wanted to express her gratitude toward Rep. Terry England for his ongoing support of Barrow County.

Creel said she had no update on the plans for a joint campus.

“There has not been any decision on anything,” she said. “Land is being discussed but it’s not just land for Lanier Tech. We are looking at our five-year plan and making sure we have the land acquisition needed to meet the needs for our five-year plan.”