Garrett County Public Schools seeks $300,000 ARC grant for Northern Garrett culinary lab

Garrett County Public Schools requested $300,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission for a culinary arts laboratory at Northern Garrett High School.

The district said the funds would pay for infrastructure work needed to run a commercial kitchen — connecting to a sewer line, installing a grease trap and running potable water lines — so the program can meet local health-department requirements.

Bobby Witt, representing Garrett County Public Schools, told the commissioners the goal is to “give the students on the Northern end the same opportunities that the students on the Southern end have.” He said the district expects about 100 students to enroll in the program overall, with roughly 25 students completing the program each year and “ready to enter the workforce.”

Why it matters: hospitality is a large local industry, and district officials framed the lab as an effort to align high-school career training with county employer demand. The request is one of several ARC-area development proposals the county must rank for regional consideration.

Discussion and next steps: commissioners were given time to ask questions; no formal funding decision was made at the meeting. County staff said the board must submit a ranked list of ARC project requests to the Tri-County Council of Western Maryland by May 16; the regional ranking will determine which projects move forward for ARC funding consideration.

Background: Northern Garrett High School does not currently have the commercial-kitchen infrastructure described by the presenter. The request covers construction and utility work only; the district did not present a detailed equipment budget at the meeting.

No vote was taken on the ARC request during the session; the county will rank this and other proposals as part of a county-wide prioritization process that moves to a three-county regional ranking afterward.