Central Oregon Community College has lost an anticipated $3 million for its Madras campus expansion project. The 24,000-square-foot building is still set to be completed in January.

The project is set to expand healthcare and early childhood education workforce opportunities and child care slots in Jefferson County. Organizers will now have to dip into reserve funding and seek additional funding from the state and local community, said Zak Boone, the college’s vice president for college advancement.

The funding was included in a community-initiated project request, anticipated in the final appropriations package for the fiscal year from Congress. It was intended to support construction of the health careers section of the expansion, which includes registered nursing, nursing assistant and medical assistant programs, said Boone.

Along with early childhood education, those three programs were chosen based on need in the community. Medical assistants work in doctor’s offices and clinics, while nursing assistants generally work in hospitals and long-term care. The idea is to train workers from the area so they stay to work in Jefferson County.

“This was our third formal request for federal support of the Madras campus expansion and after successfully navigating the entire review and approval process, having the funding stripped away is incredibly disheartening. It is not just a loss for the college, but a loss for the residents of Madras and all of Jefferson County who deserve equitable access to education and training opportunities,” said COCC President Laurie Chesley in a press release.

In addition to the education programs, the Madras campus expansion will also hold a child care center. The center will have 100 slots for Jefferson County children, a big expansion of child care options in the region. COCC is now shifting gears to identify alternative funding, including local, state and philanthropic funding, to fill in the gap left by the federal government.

The project is nearly halfway to completion and will be finished in January, said Boone. Overall, construction costs for the project are estimated at $18 million. Construction broke ground in 2024.

The college estimated in 2023 that the Madras expansion would create 30 new early childhood educators per year, help 80 staff members and students at Madras High School earn college credits and create 20 new full-time jobs at the on-site child care center. Priority admission will be given to students who live in Crook, Jefferson and Wasco counties, college officials said last year. The college is partnering with St. Charles Madras and St. Charles Prineville, as well as Mosaic Community Health, Jefferson County Public Health and others, to ensure students gain practical learning experiences in all types of health settings.

“We were very disappointed the current Congress reversed course on this funding which will deliver four (discrete) programs to Jefferson County residents, as well as up to 100 sorely needed childcare slots for the community,” wrote Boone in a statement.

The building’s second floor will hold individual labs for the medical assistant, nursing assistant and nursing programs. The first floor will have a child care center, as well as the early childhood education program. The program will allow students to observe the child care center as part of their learning.