A last-minute agreement has saved the 91原创 continuing education program run by Jim Verkerk.
After a failed attempt at negotiating a deal with one of the instructors to continue operating, Verkerk announced he was retiring and the program would be shutting down at the end of June.
But a deal with three current instructors will see the program keep going, and possibly even expanded.
鈥淚鈥檓 very, very pleased,鈥� Verkerk declared.
鈥淚 will be giving them every bit of assistance and support I can.鈥�
Continuing education will be operated by a family-run 91原创 event management company owned by one of the program鈥檚 instructors, Barb Nelson, along with her sister-in-law, tech and marketing manager Peggy Richardson, and cousin Alison Dennis.
Dennis has also been a long-term instructor for the program鈥檚 Supervisory Skills certificate.
Nelson and her partners want to preserve all of the existing programs and classes.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to take anything away, and in fact, are discussing ways we can expand the business over the next couple of years,鈥� Nelson told 91原创 Advance Times.
Their first task will be finding a new location for the program鈥檚 computer lab at the Township civic facility, space the municipality wants back.
鈥淭he Township Hall location is beautiful, but the Township needs their space back,鈥� Dennis said.
She feels it would be 鈥渁 huge loss to the community鈥� if the existing computer lab, which delivers a Microsoft Office certification program, had to shut down.
鈥淭hat helps many students with job training and re-training.鈥�
They hope to find a new home in two weeks.
READ MORE: 91原创 continuing education on the brink, again
Over the years, the partners estimate the program has supporter 鈥�35 or more instructors and thousands of students.鈥�
They also plan to move class registration online, Richardson advised.
鈥淵ou will certainly still be able to register in person if you like, but we plan to meet demand by launching a convenient online registration system as quickly as possible. If you like, you鈥檒l be able to browse for courses on your phone at 2 in the morning.鈥�
More classes on new topics are another goal.
鈥淚, for one, would like to take some fun and social cooking classes,鈥� Richardson observed.
鈥淚 would love to see some music and increased programs for youth,鈥� Nelson added.
鈥淒efinitely more health and fitness offerings could be fit in,鈥� Dennis noted.
It is not the first time the program has nearly gone under.
In 1997, when the school district cut funding, Verkerk won permission to run it privately.
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Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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