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District trades teacher proposes on-campus tiny-home builds to train students, address local housing
Summary
The district’s building trades teacher proposed a campus-based tiny-home program that would give students OSHA training and practical construction experience while producing small homes to place on vacant city lots; the plan would partner with local contractors and likely rely on grant or pilot funding for initial units.
Richland County High School staff presented a plan to re-establish an expanded building trades program that would build small, portable homes on campus as student projects, with the intention of placing finished units on vacant lots in town. Jordan Ellison, the district’s building-trades instructor, said the proposal is meant to restore hands-on industry skills in the high school curriculum and to provide affordable housing options for local residents.
Ellison outlined a two-stage model: two nine-week introductory courses in the first semester (including OSHA-10 certification), followed by an advanced semester in which students would build a roughly 500-square-foot tiny home from foundation through finish on campus. “We can then turn around after Christmas and run a full semester where we have these kids go into an advanced construction program and then we'll build this tiny home from start to finish here at the high school,” Ellison said.
Why it matters: The program is pitched as workforce development and community benefit. Ellison and district staff said local contractors have volunteered training time and materials; the district would use the first completed unit as a demonstration or sell it to recover costs and fund subsequent builds. The model is designed to expose students to multiple trades — masonry, plumbing, electrical, HVAC and interior finish — and to create pathways to apprenticeships or jobs.
Key details and constraints: Ellison said a typical tiny home would be about 500 square feet, placed on piers or block foundations after construction, and wired and inspected by licensed trades where required. He suggested the district could arrange OSHA-10 outreach training in-house — “I’m an authorized OSHA outreach trainer so I can put kids through OSHA 10 training,” he said — and would work with local plumbers and contractors for code-sensitive work and inspections.
Ellison and board members discussed regulatory and insurance questions. The district’s code-enforcement officer has advised that truly portable buildings on trailers fall under a different local regulatory path than permanent structures, but work on foundations and permanent utilities typically requires licensed trades and code inspections. Ellison said a likely early model would be to sell or transfer units to the city or private owners as rentals, with buyer responsibilities for ongoing insurance coverage.
Board and community reaction: Board members expressed broad support for a hands-on program and for keeping work on campus for safety and management. “When these kids can see a finished product at the end and they can see progress every day, that gets them more excited,” Ellison said. Board members suggested connecting the curriculum to guidance and work-based learning so students can select carpentry, HVAC or other pathways in later years.
Next steps: The district will continue planning the curriculum, costs and potential funding; it will discuss partnerships with the city for lot placement and explore whether the first unit might be funded as a pilot using local or grant dollars. No formal vote or budget allocation was taken at the meeting.
