Chester-Upland School District Presents $4 million to the College
Media, PA – City of Chester presented a $4 million check to Delaware County Community College on December 13, 2010, making Chester-Upland School District a sponsoring district of the College for the first time in history. Mayor Butler and members of the City of Chester's City Council made the announcement at the College’s STEM Center, located at 901 Media Line Road, Media, PA.
Table games legislation provided funding to lower the cost of post high school education for Chester Upland residents. This was made possible in part by Senate Majority Leader, Dominic F. Pileggi, who also attended the event. As a result of this partnership and steps taken by the city’s administration, the 2011 city budget pledged one percent of the City’s table game revenue from Harrah’s to allow the Chester Upland School District to become a sponsoring district of Delaware County Community College.
“This deal will immensely help Chester residents who want to pursue a post-high school education,” said Mayor Wendell N. Butler, Jr. “For this reason, I wanted to have this agreement on the fast track so that as many residents as possible can take advantage of the opportunity.”
“Becoming a sponsoring district has been a long time goal but we simply couldn’t afford the nearly $4 million capital buy-in and the approximately $250,000 annual sponsorship fee,” said Wanda Mann, CUSD Board President. “Now because of this deal with the city, not only will our students benefit, but also all Chester Upland residents.”
Sponsorship ultimately cuts the cost for a Chester Upland resident to attend the College by 50 percent, dropping fees to just $97 per credit hour versus $194 for residents of non-sponsoring districts beginning in January 2011.
“We are delighted that Chester-Upland has become one of our sponsoring school districts,” stated Jerry Parker, president of Delaware County Community College. They will now receive the tuition reduction that sponsoring districts have enjoyed for more than 40 years. We applaud the vision and special efforts of Senator Pileggi and Mayor Butler in making this dream a reality,” said Dr. Parker.
This major cost reduction will result in many more Chester residents being able to take advantage of the programs and facilities available through Delaware County Community College and bring them closer to achieving their dream of obtaining a college education.
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