Centre County commissioners oppose proposed closures of SCI Rockview and Quahanna boot camp

The Centre County Board of Commissioners voted to send a formal letter opposing a Department of Corrections proposal to close State Correctional Institution Rockview and the Quahanna boot camp, saying the closures would shift costs and harms onto Centre, Clearfield and Clinton counties.

Commissioners argued the steering committee’s estimated savings overstate long-term benefits while undercounting local economic losses and effects on inmate safety. “The savings at the state level really are being taken from the local counties in the form of losses at the local level,” Commissioner Concepcion said during the meeting.

The county’s letter challenges the steering committee’s rationale. It notes renovation work on the facilities is already underway or planned and argues moving inmates and staff would disrupt specialized programs—particularly ones serving inmates with mental-health needs—and could increase physical risks. The document estimates the combined employee base at Rockview and Quahanna is about 892 staff, and that a significant net loss of jobs in the region would reduce payroll and local economic activity.

Commissioners highlighted the economic ripple effects the county projects would follow a closure: lost wages, decreased local purchases by staff and inmates, and reductions in state and federal reimbursements tied to local population. The letter also cites a past camp closure in California and county-level econometric modeling to argue that each lost corrections job creates at least one additional lost job locally.

“It's this, I believe, is shortsighted,” Commissioner Dershow said, calling Rockview a “functional, reliable facility” whose closure would reduce statewide correctional capacity and risk future overcrowding. Commissioners said they will distribute the letter to state legislators and to the commissioners of Clearfield and Clinton counties and expect public hearings to follow. A public session related to Quahanna was scheduled for April 10 at a Clearfield County location, the board said.

The board approved the letter by motion and voice vote. The county said it will deliver both hard and electronic copies to the Department of Corrections and to local state legislators and county partners.

The county’s action does not bind the Department of Corrections; the state steering committee’s proposal remains under review and subject to the department’s public engagement and internal decisions.