City of Maricopa gets higher education deal

PHOENIX — The city of Maricopa is growing up fast and city leaders want to lure bigger business.

To do that, Mayor Christian Price said they’ve struck a deal with Albright College, a private liberal arts institution. Beginning this fall, Albright plans to offer accelerated degree completion courses for adults who already have a minimum of 48 college credits.

“One of the things that people don’t know is that Maricopa is a very highly educated city,” said Price. “So, one of those things that we’re trying to continue on is that we offer those classes here locally.”

The idea, he said, is to encourage residents to complete degrees, seek further education and ultimately encourage the younger students to think locally when it’s time to go to college.

“Our vision,” Price continued, “is to grow up elementary schools into post-secondary (schools), to keep them here and working for a variety of different reasons.”

In return, Price hopes big business will ultimately see the benefits of growing along with a home base in the city of Maricopa.