Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Vocational Education Annexes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sen. John J. Cronin files bill to fund vocational annexes in Massachusetts gateway cities
Summary
State Sen. John J. Cronin filed legislation Jan. 17 proposing a DESE‑administered grant program and a $100 million appropriation to build 3,000–5,000 sq. ft. career and vocational annexes on comprehensive high school campuses in designated gateway cities, focused on light construction and the building trades.
State Sen. John J. Cronin filed legislation Jan. 17, 2025, that would authorize a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education grant program and appropriate $100 million from the Education and Transportation Fund to construct vocational education annexes at comprehensive high schools in Massachusetts gateway cities. The bill is filed as Senate No. 329 in the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court.
The proposal directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to administer grants for 3,000–5,000 square‑foot light construction career and vocational technical annex buildings on comprehensive high school campuses outside the Massachusetts School Building Authority process. The annexes would offer career and vocational training aligned with regional labor market demand and focused on the building trades.
Under the bill, the program’s target population would be students who are high school juniors or seniors, have not been accepted into a dedicated vocational and trade school or program, live in the public school’s district and will participate in dedicated career and vocational technical education programs during regular school hours. The text specifies that the annexes are to be built outside the Massachusetts School Building Authority process.
The bill text states, “The sum set forth in this section is hereby appropriated from the Education and Transportation Fund: $100,000,000.” The provision is a proposed appropriation; the text does not indicate that the appropriation has been enacted or provide a schedule for distributing funds.
The filing cites regional labor market alignment as an explicit goal but does not specify which regional labor analyses, workforce partners, or grant application criteria would be used. The bill also does not specify a timeline for construction, project selection criteria, or ongoing operating funding for the annexes beyond the one‑time appropriation language.
Sen. John J. Cronin is listed as the petitioner on the filing. The bill references prior similar matter (Senate Docket No. 3060 of 2023–2024) but provides no committee referral or legislative actions in the text provided. As filed, the measure will proceed through the standard legislative process in the General Court.
Details from the filing: annex size (3,000–5,000 sq. ft.), focus on building trades, targeted student eligibility (juniors/seniors, district residents, not accepted to vocational schools), administration by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, exclusion from the Massachusetts School Building Authority process and a $100 million appropriation from the Education and Transportation Fund.
