COCC’s Madras Expansion Loses Federal Funding

Credit: Central Oregon Community College

Central Oregon Community College lost $3 million in federal funding for the construction of its new campus expansion in Madras. The expansion project will increase COCC’s academic offerings in health care and early childhood education.

While COCC plans to continue moving forward with its construction, which is currently underway, the college is working to quickly identify alternative funding sources to cover the funding shortfall.

The $3 million was part of a Community Initiated Project, also known as Congressionally Delegated Spending, according to Zak Boone, COCC’s Vice President for College Advancement and Executive Director of COCC Foundation. With new priorities in the federal administration, this project was removed from the funding package in a recent budget update. “We really believe that this project is the right project for Jefferson County and for Madras. Community colleges in this country are the backbone of rural resilience. So, we’re pretty disappointed that folks in D.C. decided, frankly, to not invest in programs and education that serve this community,” Boone told the Source Weekly.

While this setback will slow COCC’s fundraising progress, Boone says it won’t affect construction at this time. As of March 28, construction was about 40% complete. The college is still anticipating a completion date of January 2026, but will need to focus its efforts in the next few months to find replacement funding.

Before losing its anticipated federal funds, the college had about $17 million committed for the project. The total construction costs, Boone said, are estimated at around $22 million.

While there is an existing COCC campus in Madras, this expansion will more than double its size and bring four programs to the area. The building will also house a child care facility, run by a third party, serving up to 100 kids in conjunction with its early childhood education program.

“This allows folks in Madras and Jefferson County to stay at home and earn family wage jobs, and also have child care access in place,” said Boone. “We’re going to move forward. We believe in this project. It’s just disappointing that our that our friends in Washington, at current, didn’t see this as a priority project for the region and for Jefferson County.”

Editor’s note: We have updated the story to reflect the correct spelling of Zac Boone, and title. We regret the error.

This article appears in Central Oregon Pets Spring 2025.