Trenton Regional Education Center News Archive

Frank and Robin Padak of Highland Donate To Expansion of KC’s Trenton Education Center Frank and Robin Padak of Highland recently made a $500 personal donation to help the expansion of Kaskaskia College’s Trenton Education Center. The existing center occupies 3,800 square feet and the expansion is expected to bring 16,000 square feet of instructional and lab space. Donations are being accepted to meet the expansion’s goal of raising $900,000 in private funds.
Padak, a 1982 graduate of Kaskaskia College, says, “Kaskaskia College was where I started my education and we thought this project was a great way for us to give back.”

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Betty Renth of New Baden Donates To Expansion of KC’s Trenton Education Center Mrs. Betty Renth of New Baden made a $500 personal donation to help the expansion of Kaskaskia College’s Trenton Education Center. The existing center occupies 3,800 square feet and the expansion is expected to bring 16,000 square feet of instructional and lab space. Donations are being accepted to meet the expansion’s goal of raising $900,000 in private funds.
Mrs. Renth is also the Chairman of the Board for Scott Credit Union, which earlier made a $100,000 donation to the expansion project. “I was impressed with Dr. Underwood’s presentation to the Credit Union,” Mrs. Renth said, “and I felt I should do something personally as well. It will be nice to have an expanded Center to meet the needs of Western Clinton County.”

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Trenton VFW Ladies Auxiliary Gives to KC Education Center The Trenton Ladies Auxiliary to VFW Post 7983 donated $1,000 toward the expansion of Kaskaskia College’s Trenton Education Center. In a statement, Auxiliary President Mary Lee said “The Ladies Auxiliary to VFW Post 7983 is always happy to assist on projects to better the community and our Veterans. Kaskaskia College has afforded many individuals in the community the opportunity to attend classes because of their location in Trenton and the expansion will continue to make getting an education much easier for our Trenton and area citizens. Our mission is to ‘Honor the Dead by Helping the Living’ and we continue to work on projects each year to honor our Veterans and assist the community and are so happy to have Kaskaskia College Extension Center in our city.”

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July Trenton Steering Committee Meeting Kaskaskia College’s Trenton Campaign Steering Committee met on Wednesday, July 11, at the Trenton House Restaurant for updates on the fundraising and design efforts from various teams.

The Steering Committee, chaired by the Trenton Sun’s Mike Conley, is tasked with the fundraising and design of the proposed new Trenton Educational Center, an expanded facility which will take the center, at its current location in a building donated by the City of Trenton, from 3,800 square feet to a proposed 16,000 square feet with greatly expanded educational opportunities for western Clinton County. The proposed facility is expected to cost $2.4 million, of which $1.5 million is from extended bond funds and $900,000 from private donations. Since the campaign’s kick-off in May, $1,919,969 has been achieved, leaving a balance of $480,031.

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Student Awareness Raised For Trenton Center Expansion Campaign Mrs. Arlene Covington, Director of the Kaskaskia College Trenton Education Center, is working to raise student awareness of the expansion plans for the Center, and to make sure that student input is part of the decision making process.

Covington gave a short presentation to Mr. Elmer Bowman’s Speech 103 class and Mr. Eric Essen’s Computer Understanding class on July 10. Included in the presentation were conceptual artworks depicting the appearance of the center when work is completed. Mrs. Covington explained to the students that the center will occupy the entire building, which it now shares with the City of Trenton, and will expand to fill much more of the site. The Trenton Education Center is currently 3,800 square feet of instructional space; after the expansion is complete is expected to occupy approximately 16,000 square feet, with a greatly expanded area for career and technical programs as well as more room for traditional classrooms and computer labs.

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Trenton Center Steering Committee Meets Kaskaskia College’s Trenton Education Center Steering Committee met at the Trenton House restaurant on Wednesday, June 13. The purpose of the Steering Committee, chaired by the Trenton Sun’s Mike Conley, is to plan and fundraise for an expansion of the existing Center from its current 3,800 square feet to a proposed 16,000 square feet, allowing for many more class and degree offerings at a place convenient for the residents of the College’s western district.

To date, the College has raised $1,879,285 toward its goal of $2.4 million dollars for the project. Of the total, $1.5 million is from extended bond funds voted by the Kaskaskia College Board of Trustees to ensure the project would not require a tax increase. $379,285 has been raised privately, leaving $520,715 in additional private donations to be gathered before the project is fully funded.

Trenton Women’s Club Donates $1,000 to KC Trenton Education Center Campaign Kaskaskia College is proud to announce that the Trenton Women’s Club has recently donated $1,000 toward the expansion of the KC Trenton Education Center.

The College is now undergoing the process of designing the new KC Trenton Center and an addition for accommodating newly planned educational programs. The new center is expected to consist of approximately 16,000 square feet of classrooms, labs, and industrial space. The center will also allow for expanded offerings that are needed to meet the requirements of the communities, and will eventually allow for selected degrees to be earned by students at the Center without the need to commute to the main campus.

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New Baden Village Pledges $5,000 to KC Trenton Education Center Campaign Kaskaskia College is proud to announce that the New Baden Village Board has recently pledged $5,000 toward the expansion of the KC Trenton Education Center.

The College is now undergoing the process of designing the new KC Trenton Center and an addition for accommodating newly planned educational programs. The new center is expected to consist of approximately 15,000 square feet of classrooms, labs, and industrial space. The center will also allow for expanded offerings that are needed to meet the requirements of the communities, and will eventually allow for selected degrees to be earned by students at the Center without the need to commute to the main campus.

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Mike and Sybil Conley Pledge to Trenton Education Center Campaign The highlight of Wednesday’s meeting of the Trenton Education Center Steering Committee was the pledge of $5,000 from the Trenton Sun’s Mike and Sybil Conley. Mike Conley serves as the chairman of the campaign for an expanded Trenton Education Center.

“We are inundated with requests for donations,” Conley said, “and we try to accommodate all of them, though most are for the benefit of a narrow portion of the community, a Little League team or a class trip, things like that. We feel like this [the Trenton Education Center] is going to be something that will be a huge benefit for all of our area. A five thousand dollar commitment is not easy for us, it’s difficult, but we felt that it was an important investment, not only for the future of our business, but for the community, and that by making this donation we are going to make good things happen for the area in addition to the students.”

Trenton Center Campaign Kickoff Held Kaskaskia College held an exciting Kickoff Event for the Trenton Education Center Campaign at Wesclin High School on Saturday, May 5. The event marked the official beginning to a fund-raising campaign that seeks to raise $900,000 in private donations, which, along with $1.5 million in extended bond funds authorized by the KC Board of Trustees, will constitute the projected $2.4 million cost of an expanded Trenton Education Center to serve the entire western region of the College district. The project will not require a tax increase

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KC Trenton Education Center Steering Committee Update Kaskaskia College’s Trenton Steering Committee met on Friday, April 20 at the Trenton House restaurant for updates on the status of the campaign to raise funds for a new Trenton Education Center to serve the western college district. The campaign seeks to raise $900,000 in private donations to be matched with $1.5M in extended bond funds to cover the projected $2.4M cost of the new center without the need for a tax increase.

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Kick-Off Planned for new KC Trenton Education Center Campaign Kaskaskia College is announcing that a Kick-off Event for the expanded Trenton Education Center Campaign is planned for Saturday, May 5 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Wesclin High School.

Included in the event will be campaign information and updates provided on the new expansion efforts, remarks by KC officials, and refreshments prepared and served by KC's catering department.

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Trenton City Council Approves Transfer of Deed for Current Trenton Education Center to Kaskaskia College Kaskaskia College is pleased to announce that the Trenton City Council has approved an Intergovernmental Agreement to transfer the deed for the current Trenton Education Center to the College. Mr. Hawley, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, expressed, on behalf of the Board, gratitude to Trenton Mayor Gary Sellers and the City Council for their support of the Trenton project”.

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Trenton Center Expansion Steering Committee Meets The Kaskaskia College Trenton Education Center Steering Committee met on Friday, March 23 for updates from the various teams on the status of the Trenton Center campaign. The campaign will seek to raise $900,000 in private donations to be matched with $1.5 million in extended bond funds to cover the proposed $2.4 million total cost of the expanded center. Mike Conley of the Trenton Sun is the chairman of the Steering Committee.

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