RECEIVED BEFORE THE, DEC L 9 2ov9 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA PA. STATE BOARD STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF EDUCATION IN RE: : APPLICATION OF ERIE COUNTY TO: ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY : Docket No. COLLEGE ‘| NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING : PETITION TO INTERVENE OF EMPOWER ERIE, LLC Pursuant to 1 Pa, Code §§ 35.27-35.32, Petitioner Empower Brie, LLC (hereinafter “Empower"), by and through its undersigned counsel, hereby petitions the Pennsylvania Board of Education (hereinafter “Board”) to intervene in the above-captioned matter and, in support thereof, avers as follows: 1. In June of 2017, the County of Erie, Pennsylvania (hereinafter “Erie County”) submitted a Proposal for the Establishment of a Public Community College in Erie County, Pennsylvania (hereinafter “Application”) to the Board in accordance with Article XIX-A of the Public School Code of 1949, 2. Pursuant to a Notice issued by the Board on or about November 22, 2019, a hearing is currently scheduled on March 18, 2020 in Erie, Pennsylvania on the matter of Erie County's Application. 3. ‘The Board's November 22, 2019 Notice establishes a deadline of December 19, 2019 for the filing of petitions to intervene and protests in the matter of Erie County’s Application.4, Empower is a Pennsylvania nonprofit limited liability company with IRS 501(e)(3) status and is a subsidiary of the Northwest Pennsylvania Public Policy Forum, a 501(¢)(3) organization, Empower is located at 1400 Renaissance Center, Erie, Pennsylvania 16501 5. The General Rules of Administrative Practice and Procedure provide that a petition to intervene may be filed by a person claiming a right to intervene or an interest of such nature that intervention is necessary or appropriate to the administration of the statute under which the proceeding is brought. 1 Pa, Code. § 35.28(a). 6. Intervention is appropriately granted where the petitioner’s interest or right (i) is conferred by statute of the United States or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; (ii) may be directly affected by the action of the agency in the proceeding, as to which the petitioner may be bound, and which is not adequately represented by the existing parties; or (ii) is of such nature that participation by the petitioner is in the public interest. Id. 7. Itisnotnecessary for an entity seeking intervention in an administrative proceeding to show that its interest will be directly affected. Rather all that is required is a showing that it may be directly affected. See, e.g,, Shawnee Tabernacle Church v. Pennsylvania State Ethics Com'n, 76 A.3d 117, 127 (Pa,.Cmwith, 2013), 8. Empower meets the standards for intervention set forth in 1 Pa.Code § 35.28(a)(2) and (3). Empower has an interest in these proceedings, the nature of which makes intervention necessary, appropriate, and in the public interest. Empower will further be directly affected by the Board’s ultimate decision on Erie County’s Application, 9, Empower was created specifically to prepare the Application at issue in this matter and to advocate for approval of the establishment of a Community College in Erie County,Pennsylvania, Empower commissioned, financed, and performed the necessary research and prepared the Application currently before the Board for disposition, 10. Empower was aided in its efforts by a dedicated staff, passionate intems, and a diverse team who dedicated over 2,000 hours of their time in over 25 board meetings, working groups, travel, and briefings, This included accountants, educators, business executives, engineers, lawyers, union leaders, civic leaders, single parents, scholars, retirees, and others. 11. Empower’s body of work in this matter exceeds 650 pages of primary and secondary research, a catalogue of interviews with dozens of community leaders, parents and workers, and an unprecedented compilation of student attitudes toward post-secondary education, 12. Empower possesses expertise on the rules and regulations governing the establishment of community colleges in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and has unique, singular insight regarding the basis for the facts presented in the Application. 13. Erie County adopted a Community College Plan (hereinafter “Plan”) authored by Empower and submitted it without amendment to the Board in June of 2017 as its Application. A final disposition of the Application has been pending since the date of filing. 14, The Plan has since been revised twice, with the participation of Empower, to respond to concerns raised by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (hereinafter “Department”. 15, Empower has an interest in the Board’s ultimate decision regarding the establishment of a community college in Erie County by virtue of having extensively researched and developed the Application filed by Erie County. This interest is not currently represented by any other party to the proceeding,16, _ Theinterest of Empower in this matter renders its participation in these proceedings a matter of public interest, as the creation of a community college in Erie would create vital educational opportunities for Erie County and its residents. Empower Erie has specialized knowledge conceming the Application at issue, has researched the factors required by the Department, and has created, presented, and supported the Application at every stage of its development. 17, Empower is in a position to advise the parties and the agency regarding specific issues of fact that may arise at the hearing, In particular, Empower is uniquely positioned to provide information regarding the issues of alternative sources for the instruction to be offered by the community college; the overlap of the Frie County community college offerings with offerings otherwise available; the cost structure and financing of the community college; and the development of the proposed curriculum set forth in the Application. 18. If permitted to intervene, Empower will offer testimony and evidence demonstrating that there is sufficient population in Erie County to justify the creation of a Community College; that Erie County has sufficient wealth to support a Community College; and that there is an unmet need in Erie County that would be served by the establishment of a Community College. 19, Empower Erie, LLC is equipped to introduce evidence on each element of the Guidelines for the Establishment of Public Community Colleges in Pennsylvania, issued by the Department in August of 2016, including the 11 matters set forth under the heading “Feasibility Study.” Empower is further prepared to inform the Board on the philosophy and objectives of the community college as compared to other institutions in the locality, the governance of the community college, and its finanees.20. Empower’s position is that the Application should be approved and a community college charter should he granted to Erie County. 21, Empower will be directly affected by the decision of the Board and can only be fully and adequately represented by allowing it to intervene in this proceeding, If the Board rejects Erie County's Application, Empower will likely terminate operations and dissolve its Limited Liability Corporation, 22, Empower Erie can present and explain the information necessary for the Board to render its final decision on the Application. 23, Empower Erie is able to offer additional evidence and testimony to support the Application wherever necessary. WHEREFORE, Empower respectfully requests that the Board grant Empower's Petition to Intervene and that Empower be granted full party status in this matter. Respectfully submitted, id C. Hittinger, Jr., Esquire Attorney ID No, 202495 Mark S. Stewart, Esquire Attomey ID No. 75958 Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC 213 Market St., 8th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101 717.237.6000 Date: December 19, 2019 Attorneys for Empower Brie, LLCVERIFICATION 1, David C. Hittinger, Jr, state that I am an Attorney of Record for Empower Erie, LLC and that { am authorized to make this verification on its behalf. [hereby state that the facts set forth in the foregoing Petition to Intervene are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief and that 1 expect Empower Erie, LLC to be able to prove the same at a hearing held in this matter. Iunderstand that the statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. § 4904 (relative to sworn falsification to authorities). J) David C. Hittinger, Jr., Esquire 6CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE hereby certify that 1 am this day serving a copy of the foregoing Petition to Intervene upon the persons and in the manner indicated below, which service satisfies the requirements Pa.R.A.P. 121 Via United States Postal Service First Class Mail: James J. Kutz, Esquire Post & Schell, P.C. 17 North Second Street 12th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101 Attorney for Erie County Attomeys for Petitioner Empower Brie, LLC Date: December 19, 2019