After nearly a month of bipartisan resistance in Congress, the Trump administration walked back its decision to close nine rural Job Corps centers, including the Blackwell Job Corps Center in northern Wisconsin.

In late May, the Labor and Agriculture departments announced a plan to transfer 16 of 25 Civilian Conservation Centers — rural job training centers scattered across the country and run by the Forest Service — from the Agriculture Department to the Labor Department, where they would likely be privatized. The remaining nine centers were set to close by the end of the summer.

But Wednesday night, the departments appeared to reverse the decision.

"For the time being, USDA does not intend to transfer these centers to DOL to allow management to determine a pathway that will maximize opportunity and results for students, minimize disruptions, and improve overall performance and integrity," spokespersons for the departments said in an emailed statement.

The statement also promised that the departments would "conduct a robust organizational review to determine the appropriate course of action keeping in mind the (Forest Service) mission, the students we serve, and the American taxpayers."

Once the news broke Wednesday evening, Blackwell staff got on the intercom and informed the students, who were in their dorms.

"The kids were super excited," said Lorie Almazan, a Blackwell guidance counselor. "There were laughs and tears and so much excitement."

"It is absolutely the best news that we could have," said Mark Ferris, director of the Forest County Economic Development Partnership. "There’s a lot of joy here in Forest County."

Fighting back

The initial announcement of Blackwell's closure in May came as a "total shock" to the center's teachers and students, Ferris said.

As federal employees, Blackwell staff members were forbidden from lobbying lawmakers. But many Blackwell students responded to the sudden announcement by creating a Facebook campaign to solicit support.

"The students were reaching out to our graduates and current students — to anyone who would listen — and from that they initiated letters to Senator (Tammy) Baldwin and our representatives," said Almazan.

One student involved in the campaign was Ramon Sanchez, 23, who wrote a letter to Baldwin, D-Wis.

“To be honest, I didn’t think anybody was going to read it," Sanchez admitted.

But to his surprise, Sanchez received a call from Baldwin on June 11.

“I said to her that before I came to Job Corps I was struggling, working dead-end jobs, hardly making $10 an hour, and that I came to Job Corps because I wanted to better my life," said Sanchez, who is working toward becoming a nursing assistant.

Baldwin said in an interview that she was deeply moved by Sanchez's testimony.

"It's not just about Ramon getting his CNA (certified nursing assistant) license," she said. "It's about so much more."

That day, Baldwin sent a letter to Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, defending Blackwell's performance and emphasizing its role in providing Wisconsin with high-skilled workers.

A week earlier, Baldwin had joined a growing bipartisan movement against the closures. She and 50 other congressional leaders from both parties sent a letter to the two secretaries, asking them to explain their decision and urging them to reconsider. She also teamed up with a bipartisan group of senators to introduce the Job Corps Protection Act, which would block the administration from using any federal funds to close the job centers.

Baldwin lauded Wednesday night's news as a significant victory.

“I fought the Trump administration’s plan to close Blackwell and now the 55 workers there will continue serving Forest County and our youth with much needed job training. I am proud to have worked to win this fight for our Northwoods," she said in a news release.

'An awakening'

Aside from the joint statement sent to news outlets, neither the Labor nor the Agriculture department has made a public announcement of the decision. Almazan said that, as of Thursday afternoon, the faculty at Blackwell had not received official word regarding their future.

"The language that was reported did not say that CCCs (Civilian Conservation Centers) were completely out of the woods," Almazan said. "We are cautiously optimistic. But this is just the beginning. This was the first step in making sure we’re open. By no means is this over."

Despite a stressful month and a still-uncertain future, however, Almazan sees a silver lining in the spotlight the situation has shined on Blackwell.

"Although in the beginning it was a sad situation, this exposure really has helped us get the word out about what we do and what a good investment this program is in the Forest County community," Almazan said. "Job Corps is a program that’s been around a while, but not a lot of people know really what we do here."

"This was an awakening for a lot of people here," added Ferris. "It’s kind of like one of those things where you don’t realize what you have until it could be gone."