Centre County officials have raised myriad concerns and promised pushback after the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced this week that it is recommending the closure of Rockview state prison.
“I think we were all taken by surprise by this one,” Centre County Commissioner Steve Dershem said at Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting. “I think we all found out about the same time, which was quite early in the morning (on Monday) and without a lot of fanfare. I think most people probably found out from the news releases…. There’s more questions than answers at this point. I wish I knew more about the thought processes to make this occur.”
The prison in Benner and College townships joined Quehanna Boot Camp in Clearfield County and state-run community corrections centers in Berks and Greene counties as facilities proposed for closure by a steering committee after the DOC participated in the state’s pilot Resource Evaluation and Mission Alignment Project.
Corrections Secretary Laurel R. Harry said in a news release on Monday that the department had accepted the report’s recommendations and would begin a legally mandated minimum three-month period for community members to provide feedback before a final decision is rendered on Rockview and Quehanna. (The Berks and Greene county community facilities are not subject to the comment period and will close in about three months.)
Rockview’s 658 staff members will be offered equivalent positions at one of five state correctional institutions located within 67 miles, according to the DOC, a list that includes the adjoining Benner Township state prison. Quehanna’s 234 staff members will receive a similar offer.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration says the move would save the commonwealth $10 million in the next fiscal year and $100 million in the long term. Chief among the reasons for recommending the closure of Rockview is the estimated $74 million in repairs and upgrades needed at the 110-year-old prison over the next five years, as well as it being ill-equipped to accommodate disabled individuals, housing unit issues and the ability to transfer its 2,148 inmates and specialty programs to other facilities.
Pennsylvania’s inmate population has been declining, according to the report, and is at about 82% capacity, while corrections officer vacancies hover around 5.2%.
Janet Irons, a convener for the Pennsylvania Prison Society, said that the infrastructure at the prison is indeed a problem. The organization has been visiting inmates there for decades, and other than the employees, probably no one has a better understanding of the prison’s conditions, she said, asking the county commissioners not to “rush to judgment” about the proposal.
If done properly, the closure could be in the best interest of the inmates and staff, she said.
“There is nobody besides people in the Prison Society who care more about good conditions for our corrections officers because they are the front lines of taking care of and managing the incarcerated people that we care about so much,” Irons said. “They suffer from the shortage of labor, and they also suffer from the atrocious and appalling conditions at Rockview. If we want to send incarcerated people the message that they are going to be rehabilitated, no one wants to send them to a prison that is over a hundred years old and falling apart.”
But the commissioners and others said the closures could have far-reaching impacts on families and communities.
“If these facilities are closed, it will have a negative impact on the staff, their families but also our local communities and economy,” Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Higgins said. “The commissioners will be appealing to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the governor to keep the facilities open.”
If the state does continue moving forward with the closures, Higgins said, the commissioners asked that the Public Safety Facilities Act of 2018 be fully implemented. That would require impact studies, guaranteed employee protections, input from affected communities and “developing strategies that mitigate the impact of the closures on local economies,” he explained.
“Our role as Centre County government would be to ensure that we are studying and doing everything we can to mitigate the impact on our community and that’s going to a process over the next couple of months,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion said.
“There are some intense conversations that need to happen as we move forward because not only do we have the lives of [employees’] families, but the economic impact to this area will be significant,” Dershem added.
State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, whose 82nd district includes Rockview, said on Monday that he was “deeply surprised and concerned” by the proposal, citing the potential “significant negative impacts” on employees, their families, local communities and the economy.
“I want to assure the families and communities potentially impacted by these recommendations that their voices are and will continue to be heard, and I will do everything I can for the best possible outcome for them and our entire region,” Takac said. “It is vital that we fully understand the consequences of this proposal on our local economy and community well-being.”
Like Higgins, Takac said the Public Safety Facilities Act is clear on the provisions that must be implemented, and he is “going to make sure these provisions are followed to the letter, so everyone is informed, and the administration lives up to its responsibilities.”
“As a member of the Rural Population and Revitalization Commission, I am well aware of the potential long-term economic impact of job losses, especially in rural communities,” Takac said. “I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the interests and concerns of all those affected are heard loud and clear — especially the hard-working, highly trained staff — and that they are given the attention and every bit of support they deserve. If the closures happen, it wasn’t because of the staff. They deserve a fair deal.”
State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Richland Township, whose 35th district includes part of Centre County and all of Clearfield County, called the proposal “ill-conceived” and vowed to fight back.
“Governor Shapiro’s plan to close the Quehanna Boot Camp in Clearfield County and SCI Rockview in Centre County is shortsighted, lacks common sense, and would cripple our local economy,” Langerholc said. “I stand in full opposition to this proposal and will utilize all available resources to ensure it does not occur. Corrections is a core governmental service. Besides ensuring the community’s safety, these facilities provide stable, family sustaining jobs that are essential to our local economy.
“The governor’s budget certainly had no lack of increased spending to benefit his core supporting industries. Now he deals a blow to small rural counties to fund his inflated spending plan. Quehanna Boot Camp and SCI Rockview are well established, well-functioning efficient facilities. They need to stay in operation.”
Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal unveiled on Feb. 3 recommended the closure of two state correctional facilities and two community corrections centers, though they were not specifically named in the documents. That was met with a swift rebuke by the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, which it reiterated this week, saying it would “vigorously fight against this misguided decision.”
PSCOA President John Eckenrode said the steering committee and an outside consultant hired for the review were “a dog-and-pony show because they already knew what facilities they wanted to close.”
“Saving money at the expense of the safety of our members is too high a price to pay,” Eckenrode said. “In 2019, violence in our state prisons was some of the worst I’ve seen in a quarter century of service. Much of this was due to 21 of 25 prisons being over 90% capacity, including 11 over 100%. Today, violence has dropped in part because the prison population is spread more evenly. Last year, half of all prisons were over 90% capacity and only four over 100%. Lessons learned from 2019 now are being forgotten. Closing these facilities will create potential powder kegs of trouble that many of us thought were a relic of the past.”
He added that the closures would have significant personal and economic effects.
“This proposal ignores how it will devastate the families of our members, who will now have their lives turned upside down, and the local communities that depend on these facilities for jobs and economic development,” Eckenrode said.
Aside from the impacts on families and the economy, Dershem said the potential closure of Rockview raises another serious question: What happens to all that land?
Rockview prison sits on 5,755 acres, according to the DOC, and much of it is rolling farmlands stretching out between the State College and Bellefonte areas. Dershem called it “some of the largest and most pristine farmland in our community.”
“I think there needs to be some very, very, very serious conversations, and I’m hoping with this organization, as to the outcome and the use of this property moving forward.” Dershem said. “I’m hoping it’s not just a land grab and just go out there and figure out how we’re going to give this property away. We need to be thoughtful about it because this is the largest piece of property in the county that’s really unaccounted for. It is huge. It goes from a mountainside to a creekbed.
“I really hope that we are thoughtful in the process of having that conversation, as well as the conversation that the lives that are impacted are also considered. We have a lot of concerned legislators here locally.”
