Changes made in Citizens Committee 12/10/2007 Learning Community splits off from group By Joy Campbell Messenger-Inquirer The Learning Community is now a separate corporation, and the work of the Higher Education Advocacy Group has been folded into the umbrella organization, the Citizens Committee on Education. Citizens Committee officials announced the restructuring last week. "The change solidifies what we're trying to do with our organization and creates a longer-term commitment," said Tracy Marksberry, executive director of The Learning Community. That group was formed almost 18 months ago as a subgroup of the Citizens Committee on Education. It's a grass-roots initiative with a goal of promoting lifelong learning and branding the greater Owensboro region as "The Learning Community." The group now is going through the 501c3 process to establish its nonprofit status with the Internal Revenue Service. Malcolm Bryant, who had the idea for The Learning Community, is the chairman of the new 15-member board, and Owensboro Police Chief Glenn Skeens is chairman-elect. Jana Beth Francis, director of assessment, research and curriculum for Daviess County Public Schools, is secretary. No treasurer has been named. The new arrangement is a positive move for all of the education groups, officials said. Having the long-established Citizens Committee as its springboard was great, Marksberry said, but as The Learning Community grew, the format was not functional. "It has helped us a lot to clarify our structure," Marksberry said. "As a volunteer organization, the Citizens Committee is not set up to be a fiscal agent. ... We couldn't apply for funds on our own." The organization ran into the fundraising issue with two recent initiatives, The Imagination Library and The Big Read. Audubon Area Community Services is the new fiscal agent for The Learning Community. That agency also plays that role for the local chapter of The Imagination Library. The Citizens Committee established the Higher Education Advocacy Group to keep the momentum going after its Chance Report was issued in 2005, said Forrest Roberts, co-chairwoman. That report, officially called, "Charting a New Course: Higher Education in Owensboro and Daviess County, Kentucky," made these six recommendations: n Establish a higher education advocacy association. n Adopt higher education participation and attainment rates to be reached by 2020. n Seek contractual relationships between existing accredited area colleges to provide programs that fit the community's needs and goals. n Bring to the community programs in technology, science, engineering, health and agriculture. n Promote a Western Kentucky University-Owensboro branch campus. n Create a community higher education facility where institutions can offer cooperative and collaborative programs. "The community has picked this up and run with it," Roberts said. "We are still very supportive of what the higher education advocacy group was doing and believe we can accomplish those goals from within the Citizens Committee." All of the groups have received administrative support from the Public Life Foundation of Owensboro. The changes this week also reflect some changes the foundation is experiencing. For about five or six years, the foundation has been providing some administrative and financial support for 10 to 12 different nonprofit groups, Executive Director Rodney Berry said. "We announced to these groups about a year ago that we would be phasing out that management but still support them," Berry said. "... We've provided some financial support to assist them in transitioning and want to do everything we can to ensure they can be sustainable." The foundation has some major projects requiring ongoing attention, including the We the People 21st Century Town Meeting held last month, Berry said. The Citizens Committee on Education was formed in 1983 to help establish the community college in Owensboro. The group has worked to increase educational opportunities in the region. Roberts and Marianne Smith Edge are current co-chairwomen.