Kirkland Workplace Learning asks Benton County for $2,575.50 to sustain school‑to‑work programs

Christine Bullock, director of Kirkland Workplace Learning, told the Benton County Board of Supervisors that the regional program connects students from sixth grade through high school with local employers for job shadows, internships and classroom events.

Bullock said the program offers a regional approach so school districts and employers do not duplicate outreach efforts. She described a menu of services: middle‑school career speakers and STEAM institutes, an eighth‑grade financial‑literacy simulation, high‑school concurrent‑enrollment advising and work‑based experiences including job shadows (two‑to‑four hours) and 40‑hour internships that can earn college or high‑school credit.

Bullock said Benton County has seen a “39% increase in job shadows and a 166% increase in internships” year‑over‑year, and that about 60% of students who completed an internship were offered employment by the host business. She said the program’s total operating budget from all sources is about $800,000 and that Kirkland uses a diversified funding model that includes Kirkwood Community College funds, state workforce dollars, district MOUs, private donations and county contributions.

For its annual county funding request, Bullock asked Benton County to continue a uniform contribution of 10¢ per capita based on the 2020 census, which she calculated as $2,575.50 for Benton County. The request was presented as part of Kirkland’s standard annual funding appeals to county boards in the seven‑county region.

Board members did not take a formal vote during the presentation; the request will be considered during budget work sessions. Bullock identified Laura Minor as the local school liaison for Benton County and described partnerships with employers including Frontier, P&K Midwest, Betterton Chiropractic, the sheriff’s office, Midwest One Bank, Ideal Industries, Bar and Sun Electric and Iowa Mould and Engineering. She said the program tracks student experiences to help schools meet the state’s post‑secondary readiness indicators, which now emphasize concurrent enrollment and work‑based learning.

Bullock closed by noting that Kirkland had been recognized by a US Department of Education review as among the top workplace learning ecosystems nationally and that the program is the only multi‑county model in that top group, she said, citing Kirkland’s regional structure and funding diversity.

The board scheduled no formal action during the meeting; the funding request will be addressed in upcoming budget sessions.