Correctional center contrcts have been taken over by Lake Land College
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A new vendor has taken over education contracts at two correctional centers once held by SIC.
Mattoon-based Lake Land College will be the new vendor for education contracts at Shawnee and Vienna correctional centers, according to a news release from SIC.
The college dropped the education contracts at a special meeting in May because of state budget problems and slow reimbursements to local districts like SIC, according to the news release. When the contracts were not renewed, college officials pledged to help find a new vendor. The transfer is effective July 1.
Of the 15 positions at Shawnee and Vienna that were slated to be funded by DOC, all 15 remain filled, according to the news release.
Lake Land is also adding education programs at Illinois River and Jacksonville College, which will bring the college a total of $93,224 from the state, according to the July 14 online edition of the Mattoon Journal-Gazette. Lake Land now supervises education programs at 14 correctional centers across the state.
"The SIC Board did everything in its power to help ensure educational services at these facilities, and employment for those employees," said Jonah Rice, SIC interim president. "Happily, that occurred, by working with our community college partner, Lake Land College, and many helpful state officials."
Scott Lensink, Lake Land College president, said all parties hoped the transition could be made quickly enough to avoid a break in services and employment.
"The way we were able to work with officials at Southeastern, as well as the Department of Corrections, really made this type of seamless transition possible," Lensink said.
The SIC Board of Trustees first acted with an initial vote at its March meeting, declaring its intent to not renew all correctional education contracts, including Vienna and Shawnee, as well as Illinois Youth Center-Harrisburg. At a special meeting in late May, the board voted to renew only the IYC contract.
"The Illinois Youth Center is very different from other correctional programs," Dana Keating, SIC vice-president for academic affairs, said in the news release. "IYC is governed by the Juvenile Justice Department, while the other, adult facilities are governed by the Department of Corrections. That difference is significant, and made the situation a little more complex, but in the end, we're glad to say that educational services have been maintained at all three locations."