PINAL COUNTY (By Alia Beard Rau, Arizona Republic) December 4, 2004 - Pinal County residents are quickly learning that amenities really do follow growth.

The county is expected to grow from 200,000 residents to nearly 1 million over the next 20 years. Plans are already in the works for new schools, new medical facilities, a YMCA and a major mall.

Now Central Arizona College, the county's only higher-education institution, is pushing to expand into the fastest-growing areas.

The community college, which serves about 14,000 students at three campuses and two educational centers, hopes to make room for 50,000 students over the next 15 years. The expansion would require voters to approve $400 million in bonds to build two new regional campuses, expand current facilities and establish four new educational centers.

"The time is now to do some strong investigating into what the community might need and what businesses need," said college President Terry Calaway. "Our community needs a good, solid workforce."

Central Arizona College prides itself on catering to the needs of local businesses, educating students in everything from heavy-machinery operation for jobs with Caterpillar to working in a high-tech clean room for Intel. Most students are non-traditional, with an average age of about 33.

College staff has held dozens of public meetings to gather community input on an expansion plan.

"This was a chance for us to take a look at what our potential for growth is," Calaway said. "We're starting to run out of space."

Preliminary plans call for new campuses in Maricopa and the unincorporated San Tan/Johnson Ranch area. Existing campuses near Coolidge, Winkelman and Apache Junction would be renovated. Educational centers that offer limited job training and courses in Casa Grande and Florence would be expanded, and centers would be built in Coolidge, Eloy, Oracle Junction and Red Rock/Picacho.

Educational opportunities would also be expanded, Calaway said, to provide more training for health care workers, offer more evening and weekend classes, offer more programs for small business entrepreneurs, and expand technology and agricultural programs.

To pay for all this, the college is recommending a four-phase bonding process, which would bond out a total of $400 million over 15 years. Calaway said the phases would assure incoming residents share the tax burden and give the college time to evaluate the growth before adding phases.

Kayte Gentry, who lives and sells houses in the San Tan/Johnson Ranch area, is thrilled with the idea of a Central Arizona College campus in her community.

"We support anything that makes the conveniences of everyday life easier for people out here," she said.

She said she'd love to be able to take classes just for fun, and predicted many residents would be interested in furthering their education if it were more convenient. And she said such an amenity would entice more buyers to the area.

Pinal County supervisor Sandie Smith said there is a need for expanded college services, both for students coming out of high school and those looking for job training.

"As we grow, we need to be able to have the educated workforce for the different companies that come in," she said.

She said she's been working with the college to try to get developers in the area to donate land for a campus.

In January, Calaway is expected to ask the college's governing board for permission to put the $400 million bond request on the ballot. If voters approved the bonds, it would increase their secondary property tax rates.

"Our goal is to be as financially responsible as we can, but at the same time we need to position ourselves to serve the new businesses," Calaway said.