Craig Corcoran spoke during public comment to question the district's plan to rebrand the Career and Community Education Center (CCEC) as the Quad and to ask about a near-term marketing expenditure the district planned to approve.
Corcoran said he learned the CCEC was being renamed and that the board was set to approve roughly $73,000 for marketing the Quad. "Is there an ROI on that marketing that we're getting back?" he asked. Corcoran said the facility includes trade programs such as culinary, automotive and welding and urged the board to prioritize access for students with higher social-emotional or academic needs (he named ALOP and EIA programs and students who have been expelled).
He told the board that many of his Guilford students who earn skills leave Rockford for work elsewhere and asked the district to ensure the CCEC/Quad serves students who need the most support. "Why don't those students have the opportunity to attend a place like the CCEC or the quad?" he asked.
Corcoran said he did not oppose the center in principle but urged the district to rethink whether transporting academies out of neighborhood schools serves the students who most need career-technical opportunities.