OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Rachel Brown of Greenhurst expresses her support for the Cassadaga Job Corps to members of the Chautauqua County Legislature.

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County officials are going on record in support of keeping the local Job Corps open.

During the county legislature meeting, lawmakers unanimously voted in favor of a motion regarding the Cassadaga education and job training center.

On May 29, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it was “pausing Job Corps Center operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.” The Cassadaga Job Corps is one of 99 non-federally operated Job Corps centers.

Students were in the process of being sent home, when a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order. He made the order due to a lawsuit filed by a trade group representing contractors that operate Job Corps centers, which includes the site in Cassadaga.

In the motion passed by the county legislature, it notes that Job Corps has operated in the county for decades, has about 100 people currently working there and that the center prepares young people to hold skilled positions in the economy.

Before the vote Legislator Tom Nelson, D-Jamestown, who teaches in Frewsburg, said he sees the value of programs like Job Corps. “In my 39 years in education, I’ve witnessed time and again that the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for every student,” he said.

Nelson noted how Job Corps both builds a student’s academic knowledge and offers vocational skill training “to carry them toward self-sufficiency.”

County Executive PJ Wendel has gone on record expressing his support for Job Corps.

The motion calls for both President Trump and Rep. Nick Langworthy to continue to fund it.

Langworthy has expressed concerns about Job Corps, citing the high costs and low graduation rate federally. He said he will continue to investigate the program to see if Congress should continue funding it.

Local Job Corps officials insist their graduation numbers are much higher than the national average.

During the public portion of the legislature meeting, two people spoke out in support of the program.

Greenhurst resident Rachel Brown noted how there were 190 students enrolled there before the Department of Labor’s order. “Students currently enrolled will lose access to job training and healthcare,” she said.

Falconer resident Stephanie Nicks said her son attended Job Corps but had to leave two weeks before graduating. “Losing Job Corps is a real loss to Chautauqua County. While it might not have been the best program for every kid there, for a lot of kids, it was a last chance,” she said.

This was the first time the county legislature voted on a motion in several months. Motions have no legal authority, but are designed to state the viewpoint of the elected body.

Legislator Fred Larson, D-Jamestown, said he generally doesn’t support the concepts of motions, but said he was willing to sponsor this one because shutting Job Corps down will negatively impact Chautauqua County. “We need the jobs and our employers desperately need trained workers,” he said.

Legislator Bob Scudder, R-Fredonia, who represents the district where Job Corps is located, also voted in favor of the motion, but questioned its effectiveness. “Here we are, spending another seven minutes of our meeting, speaking about a motion,” he said.

Motions require a two-thirds majority to be approved. Many times in recent memory motions have either failed to gain the two-thirds majority or get approved only with Republican support, since there’s 14 Republicans and five Democrats on the legislature.

In 2023, a motion regarding Brooks Hospital and another one denouncing racism were both unanimously approved.

Motions that were approved in the last few years without unanimous support have included supporting natural gas, opposing moving local elections to mirror state and federal elections, opposing state gun laws, and support for County Executive PJ Wendel’s emergency declaration blocking New York City’s attempt to send migrants and asylum seekers to Chautauqua County.

Along with the Chautauqua County Legislature, the Arkwright Town Board and the Cassadaga Village Board have gone on record opposing the closure of the local Job Corps.