Those who worked hard to build up the Albert Lea Campus Foundation can be proud that they’ve created a source of scholarships for local students that will remain in place despite a merger with another Riverland Commuity College foundation.

The foundation has helped students with $300,000 worth of scholarships in the last ten years, and a $270,000 endowment fund remains. Even though the foundation that once served only the Albert Lea campus is being merged into a broader foundation for all the college’s campuses, an Albert Lea Gala Foundation will remain within the new entity so people who want to contribute specifically to Albert Lea students can still do so.

While maintaining that option, the merger should also provide a more efficient way for the college’s three campuses to raise money for scholarships, program enhancement, professional development and other needs. With state budget cuts sure to change the future of the state’s public colleges, having all three communities working together for the good of the college can be a benefit.

With the benefits of being bigger and the flexibility to keep money intended for Albert Lea protected, the merger of the foundations manages to be the best of both worlds.

Tribune editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper’s management and editorial staff.