Reprieve for tech school

Ridgway's ITEC will not close until after August.

The 27 area students who are receiving training in powdered metals, welding, machining and other skills at a regional trade school are breathing easier, now that the school's closing has been pushed back to August.

Last week, they learned that the Industrial Technical Education Center in Ridgway has been granted a reprieve.

Northcentral Pa. Regional Planning and Development Commission has secured the $160,000 or more required to keep ITEC going. The Northcentral board had voted late last year to close the school.

Northcentral is still trying to sell the school, working through Maxwell Consulting, which will be paid a fee contingent upon the sale of ITEC. Three or more potential buyers have expressed interest in ITEC, including the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

Cameron County Commissioner Tony Moscato has opposed the school's closing from the outset, but his position has garnered little support from other Northcentral board members.

The break for the current ITEC students came last week when the regional Workforce Investment Board, an affiliate of Northcentral, was authorized to commit a portion of its "rapid response" funding from the state to ITEC. That provides more time to find a buyer for the school and allows ITEC to fulfill its semester obligation to its students.

Moscato is urging the board to insist that any buyer of ITEC agree to keep the school at its current location.