$15M in state funds to expand career, technical education in Maine
Courtesy / Office of Gov. Mills
Oxford Hills Technical School in Norway will receive more than $2 million for a new free-standing building to expand its plumbing, electrician and building construction tech programs. Gov. Janet Mills is shown here with plumbing students.
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Four Career and Technical Education schools in Maine will receive $15 million in grant funding for program, equipment and facility upgrades, Gov. Janet Mills announced Monday during a visit to one of the schools.
The funding, from the governor's Maine Jobs & Recovery Program, will allow the schools in Norway, Biddeford, Lincoln and Mexico to add or expand programming in areas from construction to culinary arts.
"I have always been a strong believer in the power of CTEs because they equip students with the skills and hands-on experience needed to take good-paying jobs and have rewarding, lifelong careers in the trades,” Mills said in Monday’s announcement.
“We all know that Maine desperately needs more electricians, plumbers, welders, and other skilled workers, and investments like this one through my Jobs Plan will help deliver them," she added. “I look forward to watching these CTEs grow and having more students benefit from them.”
Mills announced the funding alongside educators and students at Oxford Hills Technical School in Norway, which will receive more than $2 million for a new free-standing building to expand the school’s plumbing, electrician and building construction programs.
“This will be a game-changer for our students,” said Oxford Technical School Director Randy Crockett. "The grant funds will be used to construct a 6,000-square-foot, free-standing building on campus that will have three classrooms and shop space for our plumbing program and the new electrical technology program. Our building construction program will also use the new building for some aspects of their classes, making this new building a hub for the building trades here at Oxford Hills Technical Schools.”
Biddeford Regional Center of Technology in Biddeford will receive more than $7 million to build a two-story addition to the high school to create a culinary arts and hospitality program as well as an athletic training program and to expand plumbing and emergency medical technician programs.
Region 9 School of Applied Technology in Mexico will receive $5.5 million to expand and enhance CTE facilities for four programs, including establishing a four-season outdoor education center, creating new classroom and lab space for the welding program, and expanding the culinary arts program to include an outdoor education space with a greenhouse, store, outdoor kitchen and classroom.
In Lincoln, Northern Penobscot Tech Region III will receive $570,000 to expand the welding program by building an addition to the school that will add five welding booth ventilators, 10 welding booths, and 10 welders.
This $15 million grant funding is part of a larger $20 million investment from the governor’s Jobs Plan to expand career and technical education in Maine, following $4.5 million in awards to 23 CTE programs to purchase and upgrade equipment to enhance student learning experiences and career preparation for high-skilled, in-demand industries.
In addition to the Jobs Plan funding, Mills and state lawmakers have increased funding for CTEs by nearly $10 million over the past four years, including $1.6 million to cover higher costs of supplies and $100,000 to expand CTE early childhood education programs. The governor’s biennial budget also proposes $500,000 to expand middle school CTE programs.
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