In September 2022, Central Oregon Community College held its first ever peer support specialist training course with a mix of online and in-person sessions held at the Health Careers Center on the Bend campus. A peer support specialist is someone with lived experience helping others struggling with substance use disorder, trauma or mental illness.
Central Oregon Community College
Central Oregon Community College will no longer receive $3 million in federal funding for the construction of a new health and education building at its Madras campus.
The funding was cut from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a bill carried by Republican lawmakers last month.
In a recent press release, COCC President Laurie Chesley called it “not just a loss for the college, but a loss for the residents of Madras and all of Jefferson County who deserve equitable access to education and training opportunities.”
The project broke ground last summer, after raising more than 97% of the estimated $18 million needed for completion. Since then the projected cost has increased to $22 million, and the budget gap ballooned with the loss of federal funding.
College officials said COCC will dip into its reserve fund to complete the project on time, by January 2026. The planned 24,000-square-foot building is an expansion of the current campus and would allow students to complete certain health and early education degrees and certificates at the Madras campus.
Currently students who wish to earn an associate degree in nursing or early childhood education must commute an hour away to attend class on the Bend campus, said Zak Boone, a representative with the college.
COCC is still receiving about $150,000 in federal funding for the project, he said. The college learned March 14 that an additional $3 million in funds were zeroed out.
The HHS money was earmarked to pay for the construction of the building that would house the health careers. But in the GOP-backed 2025 funding bill, a significant portion of the HHS budget was cut.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said by email that he was a “‘HELL NO’ on the Republican partisan spending bill last month,” in part because it cut funding for community-initiated projects.
Merkley is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee that reviews community-initiated projects, like the Madras campus expansion, before a full Senate vote.
“I am a passionate advocate for Central Oregon Community College’s Madras campus expansion and will continue to support this project in any way I can,” he said.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said by email that he also voted against the bill because, “it hurts hardworking communities just like this campus and its students and staff in Madras and Central Oregon.”
To make up for the funding loss, Boone said, the college will use its reserve funds while continuing to raise money. The school will look to private and local funders like foundations or corporations, he said.
