Absolute lunacy.  It's embarrassing that a business decision of this importance might be made so poorly.  Of course Juneau would like to invest a paltry sum.  I wonder where that money came from?  That management might need to fly from the panhandle to visit the shop is absolutely goofy, particularly when you consider that that's an expensive flight and hotel stay that will need to be folded into the cost of doing business.  Ultimately students will wind up subsidizing a colossally bad management decision.  
There's nothing about South East that merits being economically subsidized with public money.  It's worse yet when the need for a subsidy is artificial and based on sympathy for a small community, the input of an influence peddler, or worse yet... a management choice made by the unqualified.