Tallahassee State College and Lively Technical College are contemplating the possibility of a merger. The main reason would be to consolidate their many workforce development programs.
The Leon County School District oversees Lively, whose course offerings range from aviation mechanics to personal care to the pastry arts. Tallahassee State College also offers a wide range of workforce training programs.
The question of a merger has existed since before the pandemic. Now there’s a task force studying the question, and they’ve heard presentations from both schools. But at times discussions have been tense. Leon School Superintendent Rocky Hanna says he regrets that it’s become stressful for some of the participants.
“The possibility of change…people’s anxiety level rises. They get uptight and nervous. ‘What about my program? What about my job? What about my career?’ Which is completely understandable," Hanna said. "And what we’ve tried to relate through all of this is none of that’s in jeopardy. These programs are desperately needed on both of those campuses, as are the people that are running the programs. It’s more an issue, I think, of who would do a better job of being the parent company.”
Hanna says he’s awaiting a recommendation from the task force but is unclear about the time frame.
