CAC campus will have ‘immediate’ economic impact

Public sector development is about to spill over into the private sector in a big way as Central Arizona College gears up to break ground later this year on a Maricopa campus that could one day serve 15,000 students and employ more than 1,000 faculty and staff members, bringing tremendous economic benefit to the city. While there is no specific data on the economic impact the new CAC campus will have on the city of Maricopa, studies conducted across the country on similar-size institutions provide a basis for projections. One such study completed in January 2011 looked at the impact of Blinn College, a two-year institution in Brazos County, Texas. According to Blinn College Provost Ted Raspiller, the study showed Blinn, which has 885 employees and 12,000 students, generates more than $94 million a year for the local economy. Another study from Texas released in November, “Moving Texas Forward,” reports Texas taxpayers see a rate of return of 6.9 percent on their investment in community colleges and that Texas sees an annual addition to its gross state product of $1.6 billion from these institutions. The report says every dollar of state and local tax money invested in community colleges yields $28 in cumulative benefits that eventually accrue to residents as added income and avoided social costs.

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