Kenton County Fiscal Court Endorses Gateway's Urban Campus

The Kenton County Fiscal Court has endorsed construction of an Urban Campus for Gateway Community amp; Technical College in downtown Covington, Kentucky.

In a resolution passed June 21 by the fiscal court, Kenton County encouraged state, federal, and local governments and private entities to fund this important and vital education project for Covington, Kenton County, and Northern Kentucky as a whole.

The Kenton County Fiscal Court is the third governmental body to endorse Gateway's Urban Campus. The Covington City Commission and the board of education for the Covington Independent Public Schools have already passed resolutions supporting the project.

We are pleased to have the support of Judge Arlinghaus and Commissioners Draud, Knochelmann and Sewell as we continue to move forward on this critically important project to improve access to postsecondary education for residents of the urban core, said Gateway President/CEO Ed Hughes. Like the fiscal court, we are committed to Covington, and we view the resolution as more evidence of the strong partnerships we share with the court and other local government bodies. We believe our collaborative efforts will succeed in bringing a brighter future to Covington and the surrounding urban area.

The Kenton County Fiscal Court is a community partner with Gateway and supports its mission of providing accessible, affordable high-quality post-secondary education for all citizens, especially those living in the urban river cities of Bellevue, Covington, Dayton, Ludlow and Newport, which will be the primary students served by the Urban Campus.

Since Gateway moved classrooms to a former grade school in the 500 block of Scott Boulevard last year, Gateway has seen a substantial increase in student enrollment. In the last four semesters, Gateway's existing Urban Center in downtown Covington saw a 1,100 percent jump of residents seeking a college education. Gateway wants to develop an Urban Campus in a five-block area near the existing facility and the Covington branch of the Kenton County Library.

For the past two years, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce's 70-member Consensus Committee has chosen the Gateway Urban Campus as priority project for state funding by the Kentucky General Assembly

Gateway's building plans call for funding of $52.8 million to develop the Urban Campus and $11 for renovation of the existing Gateway Urban Center. Funding must come from multiple sources, including state, federal, and local governments as well as private and corporate contributors.