School of Government free spring classes begin March 23

The Chester County School of Government, a free course open to all county residents, is scheduled to begin on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at the Chester County Library in Exton.

This year’s “school” includes an overview of Chester County government’s services and responsibilities, followed by three further evenings that include panel discussions on topics affecting all county residents – managing growth, jobs, and the overdose ep- idemic.

Chester County has hosted four prior School of Government courses for citizens, highlighting the differences between services provided by county government compared to local municipality, state and federal government services. Since the first “school” in 2007, more than 400 citizens have attended one or more of the courses.

This year’s School of Government will make a slight change, choosing to focus on issues identified to be very important to residents that involve county government.

Chester County Chief Operating Officer Mark Rupsis said, “Our School of Government classes have traditionally been designed for citizens wanting to know more about county services and the responsibilities of Chester County government. The classes were presented by our elected officials and department directors who gave an overview of the county’s budget process, as well as topics like courts and the justice system, health and human services, emergency services and planning.

“We’ll be covering some of that information in the first week of this year’s school, but have chosen to be more issues-led and interactive for the subsequent three classes. These evenings will begin with comments from panel members who have tremendous experience when it comes to the development of living and working spaces in urban areas, job creation, and addressing the increasing number of opioid and heroin addictions, overdoses and deaths that are happening in Chester County. These three evenings will be an open class forum for questions and answers.”

All four spring 2017 School of Government classes will be held in the Struble Room of the Chester County Library, 450 Exton Square Parkway, Exton, PA from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. The weekly courses are:

• Chester County Government 101 – an overview of county government services and responsibilities on Thursday, March 23, 2017;

• Planning for growth – developing Chester County’s urban centers on Wednesday, April 19, 2017;

• Creating workforce opportunities – identifying employment needs, now and in the future on Thursday, April 27, 2017;

• Opioid and heroin crisis – tackling this epidemic in Chester County on Wednesday, May 10, 2017.

The 2017 School of Government four-week course is free, but space is limited. Residents are encouraged to sign up to attend all four classes, but may also attend individual classes. To reserve a seat, email school@chesco.org or call 610-344-6100.