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North Montco tech center board backs pilot to certify students as firefighters, EMTs and dispatchers
Summary
Joint Operating Committee agreed to maintain the North Montco Technical Career Center, consider building additions, expand health sciences programming and to pilot protective-services students earning Firefighter I, EMT and telecommunications certifications via Lower Providence Fire Department training.
The Joint Operating Committee overseeing the North Montco Technical Career Center told the district board the committee wants to maintain and expand program capacity and will pilot a protective-services pathway that allows students to earn industry certifications.
Al Resch, who reported to the board, said the committee completed studies and hired firms to assess maintenance needs and potential program expansion. "We brought in GKO Architects, PHM Associates, and SiteLogic to do the things that they did and are going to do at North Montco," he said.
Why it matters: The tech center serves students from five different school districts and is used to align career-and-technical programs with local labor-market demand. The JOC's interest in health sciences and protective-services certifications could increase postsecondary and workforce pathways for participating students.
What the JOC approved: Resch said the JOC agreed to maintain the campus, consider building additions at reasonable cost, and asked PHM to provide cost and timeline allocations by district when the firm's report is complete. The JOC also agreed to move forward with a pilot program in which North Montco protective-services students can train at the safety training campus and earn three recognized credentials: Firefighter I, EMT and telecommunications certifications, a plan shared at the meeting by Jim Lynch, fire chief of the Lower Providence Fire Department.
Discussion vs. decision: The report described completed facility studies and a committee decision to pursue program expansion; the board did not take separate formal votes on the pilot at the action meeting but the JOC agreement represents a committee-level decision.
Next steps: Resch said PHM will finish its report and the committee will return with district-specific costs and a timeline; the next JOC meeting is scheduled for Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. at the North Montco Technical Career Center.
