Local officials look to block UB merger

 

BRIDGEPORT REPORT

    By Reginald Johnson

     BRIDGEPORT --- A city council member and other officials are demanding answers about the deal for three colleges to take over operations at the University of Bridgeport --- an agreement which they say may have major implications for the city and the South End.

  According to City Councilman Jorge Cruz, D-131, the group is angry that Mayor Joseph P. Ganim secretly negotiated the merger without any council or community input.

    The councilman said the group of council members, district leaders and state elected officials have had several meetings, and are planning legal action to block the tentative UB deal.

  “We feel deceived, lied to, kept out of the loop and disrespected,” said Cruz, who represents the South End, a section with a heavy minority population. Many residents are low-income.

 Cruz said he has learned the academic classification for the university will be higher than that of the current UB, and that the new institution may not be affordable for minority students.

  That change, together with the demolition of the nearby low-income Marina Village housing project ---- to be replaced by a smaller complex with some market-rate units --- has Cruz and others concerned that gentrification will set in and poor people will be priced out of the South End.

  Under the tentative agreement, Sacred Heart University of Fairfield, Goodwin University in East Hartford and Paier College of Hamden will merge with UB, co-locate programs on UB’s campus and purchase all of the school’s property and programs.

  Cruz has submitted a resolution before the City Council, which meets Tuesday, calling for an “informational meeting to clarify the University of Bridgeport merger.”

  Cruz said his group is asking that representatives of the colleges attend the meeting, proposed for Sept. 16, to answer questions about the merger.

  The resolution reads in part “Whereas, the Bridgeport City Council understands these kinds of collaborations can lead to economies of scale, and long-term benefits for students, drive economic growth and create jobs, but many questions remain unanswered.”

  One question apparently is how the new Bassick High School fits into the equation. The new school is to be located on former UB land. Cruz said he just found out that the city paid UB $6 million for the land.

   Cruz said Ganim, who sits on the UB board and teaches part-time there, is in a “huge conflict” regarding the merger agreement.

  “What’s up with this? How could he do that by himself?” the councilman asked.