Dare County’s College of The Albemarle Task Force formally rolled out its findings and curriculum ideas for a new Manteo campus. 

Commissioner Danny Couch, who chaired the task force, presented the findings at the June 18 Board of Commissioners meeting. 

The county has set aside $6 million to build a new campus for the community college’s classes. Construction is slated to begin in 2019. 

One recommendation advanced by the task force is to design the facility with “flex space” to accommodate easily and affordably changes in curriculum.  

The second recommendation is to use existing labs and classrooms to maximize the budget. This does not mean the old Roanoke Island campus school facility, which will be demolished to make way for the new campus. The suggestion refers to existing locations that might be available, for example, commercial kitchens. 

To work with Couch, the commissioners appointed Malcolm Fearing, Tom Murphy, Anne Petera, Tim Sweeney and Arty Tillett. 

The task force formally met five times and toured existing College of The Albemarle campuses in Barco, Elizabeth City and Edenton. 

Some 26 people, representing various agencies and organizations, presented public comments during the formal sessions. Seven College of The Albemarle staffers made comments. 

On April 4, the task force adopted this list of curriculum ideas to consider when building the new Dare County Campus for the College of the Albemarle.  

Curriculum ideas include college prep, hospitality, culinary arts, customer service, property management, housekeeping, maintenance, outdoor recreation and experimental education. 

Trade education would include HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanics, carpentry and welding. 

Early childhood education, aquaculture, health sciences such as nursing, certified nursing assistant and X-ray tech and agriculture, including environmental and natural resources would also be part of the curriculum. 

The task force also recommended learning opportunities for the disabled, lifelong learning program, commercial drivers’ license training, screenprinting and accommodation of NC Wesleyan needs. 

The campus would be equipped for state-of-the-art distance learning. 

At a College of The Albemarle Board of Trustees meeting June 19, college President Robert Wynegar reported that the college’s academic team is already going through these curriculum suggestions.