Career tech centers in Valley eye funding boost

A budget proposal from Gov. Mike DeWine would set aside $300 million for career tech center improvements. If given legislative backing, grant money would be divided in two parts: $100 million for career tech equipment and $200 million toward career tech construction.

Four Mahoning Valley career tech centers -- Choffin Career & Technical Center, Mahoning County Career & Technical Center, Trumbull Career & Technical Center and Columbiana County Career & Technical Center -- stand to benefit from the funding, which would enhance workforce advancement.

Board member Joe Meranto, at a recent Youngstown Board of Education meeting, urged "striking while the iron's hot" on the financial opportunity that he believes would help modernize Choffin.

Meranto, former superintendent of Youngstown City Schools, served 14 years as executive director at Choffin.

He attended the Ohio Career Technical Administrators spring conference in Dublin, Ohio, last month to gather information for the school district on how to get the most out of the career center.

"In looking at the governor's new budget, there is considerable funding available for career tech, and it is obvious that this is becoming a priority at the state level," Meranto said.

In March the Ohio House finance committee held hearings on the budget but a decision has yet to be made. Ohio lawmakers were on break until this week, when talks will resume. The budget, as proposed, would need to pass in both the House and Senate by the end of June to be signed by DeWine.

YOUNGSTOWN CHOFFIN

Looking at the Youngstown district's financial forecast, Meranto said a drop in student population can make it difficult to maintain the district's career center. He suggests getting creative to increase enrollment. This includes considering the center as a half-day option for students.

Meranto argued that it makes "no sense" to have students from six local school districts, all within five or 10 minutes of Choffin in Youngstown, to be shuttled to the Mahoning or Trumbull career centers that are about 30 minutes away.

The new model Meranto proposes would draw more attraction to the center. "Our career center location makes an ideal opportunity for high school and adult education," he said.

Choffin, 200 E. Wood St., is nearly sandwiched between the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County and Mount Carmel Church, and is less than a block away from Eastern Gateway Community College and only a stone's throw from Youngstown State University, just beyond the library.

Meranto also cited as a selling point the convenience of Choffin being near downtown.

For transportation, he looks toward the Western Reserve Transit Authority as a solution, given the career center is nested on the bus line and could provide access to some without transportation.

The proposal will be up for further suggestion as Meranto hopes to establish a committee to further study the viability of making a major investment in Choffin.

Sherry Cross, director of the adult education program at Choffin, said an influx of funding could help the center update equipment used primarily during students' first and second terms. The students focus on lectures and labs with standard equipment from their field.

A mid-size mannequin, such as the one used in the surgical program, could cost upward of $100,000 -- or more, she said. The mannequin not only looks the part of a human, its robotic actions feature realistic chest compressions and more -- all tailored to mimic the real life scenarios these students will encounter.

Hands-on clinical experience is one thing Cross said is the lifeblood of an accelerated program. It helps the surgical technology program students get their footing before stepping into a real-life setting or working with specialists in their field.

Choffin has affiliations with Mercy Health, Steward Health, Austinwoods and QUICKMed. Its dental assisting program allows students to work with private practices in the area.

Envisioning what a influx of grant money could do for programs, Cross eyes future expansion into State Tested Nursing Assistants, sterile processing and improving reach in rural communities.

"With help from our local stakeholders we're able to survey and ask what their needs are and ask how we can better provide for them," Cross said.

MANY APPLICATIONS

Mahoning County Career and Technical Center Superintendent John Zehentbaur is flooded with applications for MCCTC. The school has 600 applicants with about 430 capacity for the center's 21 programs for secondary education and four adult education programs.

Extra funding, Zehentbaur said, will provide more opportunity for the center to expand and begin offering new programs based around area needs.

The center has already made plans for four new programs in anticipation of DeWine's budget passing.

Consulting with industry partners, Zehentbaur said MCCTC identified key area needs. They are looking at expanding programs in software engineering, tech training, cyber security and growing the existing welding/manufacturing program, which according to Zehentbaur has more applicants than available room.

MCCTC will not only look to take advantage of the construction funding but also equipment funding. The center plans on purchasing items such as manufacturing equipment, software servers, and robots for its robotics program.

Earlier this year, MCCTC received $285,000 in federal funding from President Joe Biden's $1.7 trillion federal spending bill, passed in December 2022, for an Innovative Energy and Technology Workforce Training Center. Ground for the $1.1 million facility was broken late last year. It will focus on providing skilled trades and job ready training for adults but primarily will focus on secondary education for younger students looking to enter the STEM field.

Zehentbaur projects the center will open by fall 2024. He described it as an "adaptable center," meaning depending on advancements in technology changes can be made depending on needs of the workforce.

"We think about what will be needed not just now but five years down the line," Zehentbaur said. "Things change and we want to be sure we can move quickly. If we got word that artificial intelligence is now a priority, we need to adapt."

Given the rise of companies such Foxconn and Ultium Cells, Zehentbaur also wants to allow space for a program that expands into technology manufacturing.

"This country was built by people's hands," Zehentbaur said. " It starts with someone that built something using the training that they were given. The issues we've seen with shortages affect our daily lives, so we want to offer an answer to that."

ENROLLMENT GROWTH

Enrollment has been through the roof for Trumbull Career & Technical Center, said Superintendent Jason Gray.

When Gray and TCTC Director Paula Baco heard about DeWine's funding proposal, they started brainstorming ways to capitalize on the opportunity.

"We're excited about it. We've always sent the message that career tech, skilled trades are important, and it's at the forefront right now," Gray said. "For us, we live by our three E's campaigns: We get our students enrolled, enlisted or employed. And this definitely helps us to do that."

With programs filled to capacity at TCTC, its board and administrative team have been putting plans in place to expand programs-- which could mean a move toward a new career track for industrial technology programs.

Nathan Berry, TCTC's career development and work-based learning coordinator, said: "This program, we're trying to develop in such a way that a student can come in, learn the basics of industrial tech and then in their second year go toward a more specific avenue such as robotics or industrial maintenance,"

A more lofty goal is to make way for 100 new spaces for programming. To do so, Gray said two things need to align: a continued increase in enrollment and meeting in-demand needs.

Berry said the potential for more funding is exciting-- TCTC's local business and industry partners see needs that the funding could help fill with a potential expansion, such as possibly adding more buildings to the campus.

Whether backed by grant money or otherwise, Berry said TCTC still plans for growth.

cmcbride@tribtoday.com