Santa Fe Community College has hired an Albuquerque law firm to push to get the college's proposed Higher Education Center built.

The college isn't planning a lawsuit against the state yet, according to SFCC President Sheila Ortego.

"[Litigation is] not what anybody wants," she said by phone Wednesday night. "We felt a more formal approach was needed because we have tried everything else we could think of. We are hoping that attorneys from both sides can work collaboratively to resolve this issue."

The law firm is Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan P.A.

Ortego has spearheaded the college's campaign to create the center as a venue for Santa Feans to pursue bachelor's and master's degrees through several partner institutions, including The University of New Mexico. It is funded with $12 million from a summer 2010 bond election.

About 550 students have enrolled in a temporary learning center housed on the community college campus. But the college purchased state land near the Santa Fe University of Art and Design to build a new facility for enrollment and financial aid offices, computer labs, classrooms, tutorial space and other amenities to serve up to 800 students.

Though the college hosted an open house last autumn to showcase its center, building progress stopped after Jose Z. Garcia, secretary of the state's Higher Education Department, told the college that the state's Learning Center Act requires the college to secure legislative support for the center. Garcia also said Gov. Susana Martinez is not supporting the creation of more colleges or learning centers until she gets an accounting of how the existing ones work.

The college, bolstered by both a recent attorney general advisory letter and the advice of some Santa Fe legislators who maintain the center does not require legislative approval, counterargues that it simply needs its construction plans approved.

In January, Ortego and other supporters met with Martinez to look for a solution. Since that meeting, the college has heard nothing from the administration.

"I don't think their position has changed," Ortego said of the administration's viewpoint. "They feel it is a legal issue. Both sides acknowledge a difference of opinion."

She said attorneys from both sides have agreed to meet next week to discuss the issue.

Ortego, who has worked at the college since its founding some 30 years ago and has served as president for six years, announced her retirement as of this August. Asked if she felt pressure to get the Higher Learning Center going under her tenure, she said no.

But, she added, "It is unnerving to think I will step out and pass on the baton to someone else to do the work and get this done.

"The conversation about 'what to do next' has been difficult for us. We are hoping this effort will be successful, and we are willing to give it some time."

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.