Media Contact: Joseph Nanni, (216) 698-2520; jnanni@cuyahogacounty.us

Cuyahoga County, Ohio – Cuyahoga County Council will hold a work session on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. to address the Charter provision calling for a program to provide post-secondary educational assistance for county residents. The Charter authorizes the County Council to: establish and provide for the administration of a program to provide scholarships, loans, grants and other forms of financial assistance for residents of the County that will enable them to participate in post-secondary education, including vocational education and job training and retraining; for the funding of the program from money determined to be saved by the operation of the County government under this Charter and from other funds of the County, including gifts, grants and donations received for such purpose; and for the conditions for eligibility for participation in the program by individuals and educational institutions.

A panel of community partners will discuss the area’s current initiatives and funding sources and suggest how the county might structure a program. Panelists include:

• John Colm, WIRE-Net
• Lee Friedman, College Now Greater Cleveland
• Quentin McCorvey, Key Bank and Workforce Investment Board
• Peter Ross, Cuyahoga Community College
• Helen Williams, Ph.D., The Cleveland Foundation

The work session will be held in the County Council Chambers on the first floor of the Justice Center, prior to Council’s regular meeting. All sessions are open to the public, with time provided for public comment.

RELATED SURVEY: County Council also invites the opinion of Cuyahoga County residents about the structure and focus of the county educational assistance program. A survey is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CLJ87JY. You may also link to the survey from Council’s Facebook page. Topics surveyed include:

• the importance of certain types of post-secondary financial assistance and programs
• whether recipients of assistance should attend programs in Cuyahoga County or commit to living in the County for a time after completing an educational program
• whether the assistance program should target in-demand disciplines/occupations when deciding awards

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the filming of the movie I, Alex Cross, parts of Ontario and Lakeside may be blocked to traffic on Tuesday, September 13. The Huntington Garage is open at the West 3rd entrance only. Please allow additional time for travel to and from the September 13 Council Work Session and Meeting