Benefactor saves CSN's Boulder City center from closure

The College of Southern Nevada’s Boulder City campus will stay open thanks to a landlord who has offered to underwrite its operations.

Boulder City students faced a long commute for the 2009-2010 school year after CSN proposed closing the campus to deal with anticipated state budget cuts. It was one of six outlying campuses threatened with closure last year by College President Michael Richards.

But the campus was saved after the building’s owner, the W & E Smith Foundation, offered to subsidize the cost of operating the Boulder City center.

A final deal has not yet been hammered out, but foundation President Bill Smith has offered to cover the difference between the revenue generated by the classes and the center’s operating costs, he said. For the past 15 years, Smith has leased the building at 700 Wyoming St. to CSN for $1 a year.

“We were very concerned when we found that the college was no longer going to be able to use the building,” Smith told the regents Thursday. “It’s become a very important asset to the community, not only for the community college but the community as a whole. So keeping it there is going to be a big, big deal for our city.”

Smith said he had been trying to talk to CSN officials for the past six months to offer financial support but heard from President Michael Richards only in the past month.

Smith said he wrote to Chancellor Jim Rogers June 11 to ensure his offer was heard at the top levels. He also appeared at the Board of Regents meeting June 18 and made his announcement during the public comment portion.

“I don’t think they understood what he was offering,” said Andrea Anderson, the center’s former director. “He had trouble getting his point across. I guess he finally did.”

In his discussions with Richards, the college made a verbal commitment to keep the campus open for three years, Smith said.

The Boulder City campus of CSN hosts a variety of courses including photography, nursing and general education. The aviation program that was started at the Boulder City center has been moved to the Henderson campus and probably will not return, CSN spokeswoman K.C. Brekken said.

Other outlying campuses that will remain open include the Sahara West Center, the Moapa Valley Center and the Lincoln County Center.

CSN will cease offering regular classes at the A.D. Guy Center and the Downtown Learning Center in Las Vegas, though it may offer programs through its Division of Workforce and Economic Development, Brekken said. The Henderson Business Resource Center and the CSN Center across from UNLV will close, he said.

The changes will save CSN $1 million, Brekken said.

Smith was scheduled to meet with Richards next week to discuss details, Smith and Brekken said.

The college will not know how much it will cost to keep the Boulder City campus open until it evaluates which programs will remain there and what staffing will be needed.

Smith said he is interested in using the CSN building for more community events as well. “I know there are a lot of people out there, groups that will be able to use the building,” he said.