ERIE, PA. Tech school seeks state assistance

The school cannot borrow money until its sheds $16 million in debts.
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- A technical school where hundreds of laid-off factory workers have flocked to get head-starts on second careers could close unless the state pays to keep the doors open, officials at the school said.
The Center for Advanced Manufacturing & amp; Technology, which officials in Erie consider to be a key part of plans to help the city rebound from manufacturing job losses, could run out of money in two weeks, said Jerry Covert, head of the school.
The school could stay open a month longer if the state sends $445,000 in federal money to retrain laid-off workers, money that has been delayed by a mix-up in the state budget, Covert said.
More than 1,300 people have flocked to the school in the past two years as Erie tries to weather a national decline in the manufacturing sector.
Among them is Mark Thomas, 48, of McKean Township, who is three months shy of getting a degree in maintenance mechanics after losing his job at medical equipment maker Thermo Shandon.
"I don't particularly want to think about it," said Thomas. "If I couldn't finish now, it would be disappointing."
Expectations
The school cannot borrow money until its sheds $16 million in debts it assumed when it replaced Northwest Pennsylvania Technical Institute two years ago.
For the past two years, the state has given the technical school $5.7 million, and officials see no reason for the state to stop.
"I'm totally convinced that neither the governor, nor the Legislature, nor the Department of Labor and Industry will allow CAMtech to close because of an error in the budget," said Erie County Executive Rick Schenker. "How could the state close down such an economic development tool as CAMtech?"
In the meantime, Covert said he plans to ask some school employees to work half the time for half of their pay to help save money.
XOn the Net: Center for Advanced Manufacturing & amp; Technology: http://www.gocamtech.com