A study on the economic impact of Oregon’s community colleges found that Clatsop Community College supported 1,556 jobs in the region in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, adding about $112.5 million to the local economy.

The study was conducted by Lightcast, a labor analytics firm, on behalf of the Oregon Community College Association. Statewide, the report showed that Oregon’s 17 community colleges generate an annual economic impact of $9.6 billion and support 1 out of every 22 jobs in the state.

The economic impact amounts to about 3.3% of Oregon’s gross state product.

In Clatsop County, the impact is even more pronounced, with the community college’s contribution estimated at about 5% of the region’s total gross product. One out of every 16 jobs in the county “is supported by the activities of CCC and its students,” according to the report.

The report also looked at the value that an education at the college provides to individual students. The students’ benefit-cost ratio is 6.3, the report concludes, meaning that “for every dollar students invest in CCC in the form of out-of-pocket expenses and forgone time and money, they will receive a cumulative value of $6.30 in higher future earnings.”

With an associate degree from the college, the report states, graduates see an increase in earnings of $7,000 yearly compared to those with a high school diploma working in Oregon.

“The results of the study demonstrate that CCC creates value from multiple perspectives,” the report concludes. “The college benefits county businesses by increasing consumer spending in the county and supplying a steady flow of qualified, trained workers to the workforce.

“CCC enriches the lives of students by raising their lifetime earnings and helping them achieve their individual potential… Finally, CCC benefits society as a whole in Oregon by creating a more prosperous economy and generating a variety of savings through the improved lifestyles of students.”

The study’s findings come at a complicated time for the college, which has campuses in Astoria and Seaside.

In May, Christopher Breitmeyer, the former college president, reached a separation agreement with the college board to leave a year before his contract expired. Three college board members resigned, pointing to dysfunction and differences of opinion over the board’s role.

This month, Trudy Van Dusen Čitović, the college board chairwoman, and Kevin LaCoste, the interim president, briefed Astoria and Warrenton city leaders about the college’s troubling financial position.