STATE COLLEGE – A state court ruling has forced Penn State University to unseal internal documents that could reveal the real reasons behind its controversial plan to close seven Commonwealth campuses, including Mont Alto.
While the university cites declining enrollment and budget woes, advocates and local leaders suspect the soon-to-be-released records, particularly unredacted sections of a 2022 trustee briefing, might expose a deeper agenda: reallocating funds not to save money but to pursue “priorities and values” that sideline smaller rural campuses.
This development, following a years-long fight for transparency, stems from the May closures. Mont Alto is among the campuses scheduled to close after the Spring 2027 semester despite its tight-knit community, specialized programs in nursing, forestry and allied health, and a 9:1 student-faculty ratio.
The decision affects roughly 2,000 students statewide but hits hardest in places like Mont Alto, where the campus has been an economic anchor since its founding as a forestry academy more than a century ago. Families in Franklin and surrounding counties rely on its affordable tuition and two-year degree pathways that keep students close to home and help them avoid the higher costs of the main campus.
Penn State says enrollment at Mont Alto has fallen to 613 students as of Fall 2024 – a 35 percent drop over the past decade – making it unsustainable amid a broader system-wide deficit. But skeptics, including Franklin County commissioners, call that a smokescreen.
Mont Alto serves the region by making higher education accessible, with a 90 percent acceptance rate and strong graduation outcomes for its size and mission. It offers unique programs such as the system’s only bachelor’s in social work at a Commonwealth site and a growing clinical research program. The campus’s arboretum also functions as a key research hub for forestry hybrids, drawing both community and academic interest.
“This isn’t a failing campus; it’s a thriving one in a growing region,” said Sheila Vieira, a Mont Alto parent who has led resistance to the plan. “Closing it feels like prioritizing shiny new projects over proven community anchors.”
The core question now is what the unsealed documents may reveal. A recent Commonwealth Court ruling upheld a 2023 decision by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, ordering the university to release records from a 2022 private trustees’ retreat and a nonpublic board committee meeting within 30 days, by late November.
The university must also un-redact key sections of that year’s briefing on “fiscal challenges” and budget realignments tied to Penn State’s “priorities and values.” Since 2022, the university has cut jobs, offered buyouts and approved these closures to address the deficit.
Legal filings under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know law, from Spotlight PA, the investigative newsroom that brought the case, suggest the records might reveal internal debates favoring investment in larger, urban-focused campuses over rural ones, potentially exposing bad-faith justifications that overlook Mont Alto’s retention, personalized learning and service to underserved regions.
In court, Penn State argued the files weren’t subject to state open records laws and warned that releasing them could spark “distrust and confusion” or harm morale. The judges rejected that claim, calling it “without merit” and a potential loophole that could let agencies evade transparency by storing records in the cloud. The court said the university’s arguments fell “woefully short” of proving harm.
Spotlight PA rightfully claims credit for this legal victory. The nonprofit, represented pro bono by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Cornell Law School’s First Amendment Clinic, filed its request in May 2023, targeting records used by secretaries of the state departments of Agriculture and Education, both of whom sit on the university’s Board of Trustees, from the retreat.
“This decision is a major victory for government transparency,” Devin Brader-Araje, the Cornell student who argued the case, said in a statement after the ruling. Christopher Baxter, Spotlight PA’s CEO, added: “Legal gray areas . . . will not stop our team in pursuit of the people’s right to know.”
Neither Penn State’s communications office nor board leaders have commented on the ruling or appeal plans. This isn’t their first challenge from Spotlight PA. Earlier this year, they settled a Sunshine Act lawsuit, in which the university agreed to disclose more about private meetings and to undergo five years of training.
In any case, this fall’s new cohort is the final one eligible to graduate from Mont Alto. But if the unsealed documents vindicate the campus’s defenders by showing closures driven by “priorities” rather than necessity, perhaps not.
Editor’s note: This story is based entirely on reporting and documents from Spotlight PA, Pennsylvania’s largest nonprofit investigative newsroom. Kudos for their tireless work on behalf of accountability in government.
