FiLE - The outside of Tongue Point Job Corps Center in Astoria, Ore.
Joni Land / OPB
Not too long ago, Mac McGoldrick, the director of Tongue Point Job Corps Center in Astoria, was figuring out where around 20 students and more than a dozen staff were going to live if the center closed.
The center faced the threat of an immediate shutdown in May after the Trump administration abruptly announced it was shutting down the program, a move that impacted 99 Job Corp centers. Job Corps serves disadvantaged youth, providing training across a number of fields and industries.
The National Job Corps Association quickly filed a lawsuit, claiming the U.S. Department of Labor’s attempt to shut down the centers was illegal. That lawsuit is ongoing.
In June, a federal district court granted a request for a nationwide injunction, basically holding the doors open for the centers until the lawsuit is settled one way or another.
While this means Tongue Point can once again welcome in students, house them, train them, graduate them — it does mean the center and its programs remain on uncertain ground.
Related: Facing federal closures, Job Corps students and staff in Astoria weigh their futures
For now, McGoldrick is looking at a program that has brought back around 165 students and hopes to enroll 200 more. Of the 165 already enrolled, most are returning students.
McGoldrick could not comment on the ongoing lawsuit. But otherwise, he says they’re not shying away from the events of the last six months. They are upfront with staff and students about the current situation.
But, he added, he and the rest of the staff remain committed to making Job Corps work on Oregon’s North Coast, operating much as they always have.
“I certainly can’t guarantee what the future holds,” he said, “but I for one am very, very optimistic. Job Corps has a 60 year proven, 61 year proven track record of succeeding for our students and I really think everybody here is committed to the next 60 years.”
Related: 7 Job Corps students, including 1 in Oregon, sue Labor Department over closures
When Tongue Point faced closure earlier this year, the Astoria City Council led an emergency community meeting. One of the more pressing concerns was how to support the several dozen students and staff who did not have stable housing outside of the Tongue Point campus. At the same time, church groups and others were looking at ways to provide that housing.
McGoldrick said he was blown away by the response.
“This community really rallied around our staff and our students when the program was in trouble and to a certain extent that puts me at least in a certain ease,” he said. “I know that should the worst happen again that this community will respond as it did in June and kind of offer spaces and resources.”
Going forward and knowing the uncertainty, McGoldrick is in closer contact with community partners than before.
Related: Tongue Point Job Corps: Teaching the skills of seamanship
Tongue Point students fill important roles at local businesses and in a variety of industries that power the North Coast, participating in internships and apprenticeships across Clatsop County, said Kevin Leahy, the executive director of the Clatsop Economic Development Resources, or CEDR, and the associate vice president for business, community and workforce development at Clatsop Community College.
“So we just wanna continue to support our Tongue Point Job Corps center because it’s such a crown jewel,” Leahy said, adding that from a business perspective, having the center here represents a return on investment.
For the city of Astoria, Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick told KMUN he plans to stay in communication with McGoldrick and other Tongue Point staff and continue to work with them on what the city can do to support the center.
He says it’s unfortunate that Job Corps’ future is in question given the need locally and across the country for more people trained in the types of trades taught at Tongue Point.
Katie Frankowicz is a reporter with KMUN. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
