NIC proposes Kellogg campus

North Idaho College could be operating out of Kellogg City Hall by spring.

For the students who have been braving the snow-covered interstate and mountain passes to drive to the Coeur d’Alene campus, it will mean a shorter – and less grueling – commute.

City officials and educators say bringing a community college extension to the Silver Valley will have other advantages. They say that having a college in the community will plug the “brain drain.”

“We educate our youth and they usually go away,” City Planning Administrator Walter Hadley said. “We’re trying to get some education available to our local residents and some of the kids getting out of school.”

If Kellogg’s City Council OKs the plan proposed by city officials and NIC, the college could open the Silver Valley Higher Education Center in January. City Hall would relocate to a former Bunker Hill Mining office at 1005 McKinley Ave.

Under the proposal, Kellogg would make about $60,000 worth of renovations to the building and waive lease payments for two years.

The college already offers limited courses in Kellogg, including dual-enrollment courses for high school students and a GED program. With the space of Kellogg’s City Hall, the college could expand those offerings and students could complete a degree without traveling to Coeur d’Alene.

Last fall, 180 students from Shoshone County enrolled at NIC, College Spokesman Kent Propst said.

Besides eliminating the commute for those students, Propst said the Silver Valley center would help alleviate some of the pressure at the Coeur d’Alene campus. The college’s growing enrollment has put a strain on facilities and parking.

“We’re pretty excited about this,” Propst said. “We’re looking at other communities throughout the region. We’re actively meeting with folks in Boundary County and Bonners Ferry. I suspect we’ll look into Benewah County in the not-so-distant future.”

Kellogg School Superintendent Greg Godwin said the center would enhance the existing partnership between the Valley’s K-12 schools and NIC through the dual enrollment program. Godwin said the center also would provide an opportunity for additional training for district employees and make college more available to high school graduates.

Wednesday’s City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Kellogg City Hall, 323 Main St.