‘There’s some demand here, and we’ve got students here. We have supply and demand.’

DUBLIN — Future job and industry growth for Bladen County has parts of the equation needed right here.

Connecting them through its community college is a big part of sustaining success, the president told trustees Friday evening.

“It’s going to be important to have strong relationships with the county, and with businesses coming to the county,” Dr. Amanda Lee said during the annual planning session of Bladen Community College trustees. “We need to provide the employees.

“We have opportunity right here. There’s some demand here, and we’ve got students here. We have supply and demand. We’re in a good place to move forward.”

The message came with reference to a sentiment offered by Chuck Heustess standing at the same podium in the teaching auditorium of the Findt Workforce Development Building just nine days earlier. Talking to county commissioners in their planning retreat, he told them, “Our businesses are having trouble finding skilled, qualified people ready to go to work. But yet, we’re hearing from big corporations, as difficult as it is, it’s better here than other places.”

The college has long prided itself on flexing through its offerings, both in curriculum and continuing education. Instruction is tailored to meet the needs of the community.

Trustee Ray Britt, a county commissioner representative to the board, said recruiting students to the campus is paramount.

“We need a powerful person to reach the youth of today,” he said. “That’s the way to stop our county population from declining. If we get students here, and teach them, it’s easier for me as a commissioner to get companies to come here.

“We’ve got to get a handle on our public school system here.”

He cited numbers given to him that indicated the school system’s population is about half, or less than half, of what it was when he and trustees Chairman Dennis Troy were in high school.

Melissa Caperton, director of regional impact for myFutureNC, was the guest speaker for the session. The program MyFutureNC is a statewide nonprofit focused on educational attainment, a cross-sector collaboration with leaders in education, business and government.

Her presentation highlighted goals and assessment of position for both Bladen County and the state. The program’s goal is by 2030 to have 2 million North Carolinians with high-quality credential or post-secondary degrees.

The trustees’ regular board meeting for the month followed the planning session. They heard from students Michael Dunbar, president of the Student Government Association, and Latasha Stephens, an adult high school student.

Sondra Guyton, vice president for Workforce and Continuing Education, gave a report on enrollment. Fall 2020 was down year over year in curriculum (165 students) and in continuing education (215).

The drop prompted discussion on the budget impact. Lee reminded it is a two-year average for full-time equivalencies from a pool of money shared by all 58 community colleges in the state system. Bladen is projecting a budget decline of 7 percent, a little better than the state’s projected decline of 11 percent. Only four schools in the system had enrollment gains in the fall.

“The budget is very much on my mind, and takes very careful planning,” Lee said. “It’s imperative we get some more students here, that we spend our money we have in a very responsible way. Marketing and recruiting efforts are where we’re putting money in.”

Other senior staff reports were provided by Tiina Mundy, director of Human Resources; Re Gena Gilliam, leader of the Faculty Senate and Staff Council; and Linda Burney, who heads up Resource Development and Foundation.

The college remains in consultation with the county’s Health Department and Emergency Services as a site ready for coronavirus mass vaccinations. Lee said employees can start getting them around March 10; those already qualified have started to receive them.