CareerTech asks recurring funds to address 6,400‑student wait list and expand workforce programs

The Statewide Career and Technical Education system told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 4 that it needs recurring state funding to address a wait list of students seeking training in health care, construction, manufacturing and other high‑demand fields.

Why it matters: Career and technical programs supply job‑ready graduates for critical occupations. Lawmakers asked how many students would be served and what outcomes the state would see in return for state investment.

Senator Seifried presented CareerTech’s request. Director Brett Hakan told the committee that CareerTech used a $28 million one‑time allocation from last year to reduce the wait list and that the system has added students through operational improvements. Hakan said the current wait list is about 6,400 students and that projected need over a four‑year window exceeds 10,000 students.

CareerTech requested $41,650,000 recurring to expand program enrollment — the presentation said that would add or expand 41 health career training programs, 37 construction trades programs, 31 manufacturing programs and 47 other training programs — plus $3,500,000 recurring to support K‑12 instructors for those programs and $1,000,000 to expand programs in currently unserved areas. Hakan said the $28 million from the prior session was provided in a lump sum to give local schools time to procure equipment and staff, and that the new request is intended to sustain and expand the work.

Hakan described a stepped approach that tailored funds to local needs (equipment, teachers or facility expansions) rather than imposing a uniform solution. He told senators CareerTech’s return on investment research shows a strong economic benefit; he cited a third‑party study showing CareerTech’s average ROI at $9.39 returned for every $1 invested and that first‑year average wages for career tech completers exceed typical high school graduate wages by about $16,000.

Committee members sought detail on how many more students would be served by the recurring request. Hakan said the system expects to serve the wait list with several years of sustained funding and that local districts must also contribute; he said the $41.65 million request minus the prior one‑time allocation equates to about $19 million in new recurring funding compared with the status quo.

What’s next: CareerTech officials said they will provide detailed metrics on how the one‑time funds were spent and projected enrollment increases from recurring funding. No formal votes occurred at the hearing.

Ending: CareerTech presented a plan to scale training across health, construction and manufacturing fields and told the committee sustained recurring funding is necessary to eliminate the current wait list and meet growing statewide workforce needs.