WHILE they are not currently running courses in Cootamundra, Riverina Community College (RCC) marketing manager Megan Norton says if there is enough support from local residents there is still scope for courses to run.
Many locals were shocked late last year to learn the branch would not have a new course schedule for this year and the classes which had been running would not be continuing.
Ms Norton has moved to reassure the community the RCC is not leaving Cootamundra in the lurch and is very much in town for the long run. She indicated they are going through a transition phase at present, during which courses will still be offered from Wagga.
She said if enough people want to do a particular course in Cootamundra, then they should contact the RCC and the course will more than likely go ahead.
The RCC will source a tutor and courses can be tailored to the needs of a group.
The college still operates out of the Wallendoon Street premises, it always has and Ms Norton indicated this space will be available for course use.
“We want to work with the community to see what they want, rather than putting up a schedule of courses which may not necessarily have the support of the community,” Ms Norton said.
In the meantime, as the RCC determines a future course of action regarding courses, the college will continue to have a presence in town operating an employment service two days per week.
The RCC has been a fixture in Cootamundra for a number of years offering work-related and leisure courses in everything from information technology to art.
The decision not to run local courses came at the end of last year following the resignation of course coordinator Karen Walsh.
Mrs Walsh indicated her decision to leave was not related to anything happening at the RCC but the fact her TAFE teaching schedule is becoming increasingly busy. In recent years she has coordinated her RCC employment with TAFE commitments in the visual arts area.
Currently she works two days a week at Tumut TAFE and one day at Temora TAFE.
On Fridays she also teaches art classes at Cootamundra’s Arts Centre.
Mrs Walsh said her decision to leave the RCC frees up more time to do arts workshops at the Arts Centre, which is something she has been wanting to spend more time on for a long time.
She told the Herald she handed her resignation in last October believing they would replace her and she would have time to train someone new in the position.
Ms Norton indicated a new course coordinator for Cootamundra is not out of the question at some point in the future and in the meantime there is a staff member at the local branch two days a week to whom community members can address course enquiries and feedback.
Mrs Walsh had been a tutor at the RCC since 1996 and course coordinator since 2007.
The RCC course brochures have always listed a number of outreach centres for the community college on the back, however the latest issue does not include Cootamundra.
Ms Norton said this is simply due to the fact that no decision has been made as yet on the future direction of the Cootamundra site. She added it is not an indication the site will never run courses again.
Ms Norton indicated the RCC would have a firmer idea on what is happening in Cootamundra by mid year.
A new CEO, Jim Cloutman, began with the RCC in May last year.
Mrs Walsh reported that from his instatement as CEO until her leaving, he did not visit the Cootamundra site at all.
Ms Norton said while this is the case, the current RCC deputy has spent time in Cootamundra and all of the outreach centres are important to Wagga.
A number of local residents who took part in the RCC’s yoga class have expressed their dissatisfaction to the Wagga office over the decision to cancel the local class.
Anyone wanting to pass feedback to the Wagga office should contact
them during business hours on
6933 5555.
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