CareerTech presents FY‑27 funding priorities to expand technology‑center training; apprenticeship pilot enrolls 89

Director Hagan presented a first reading of the agency’s fiscal year 2027 appropriations request and outlined a set of funding priorities aimed at expanding technology‑center capacity and early career exploration.

Hagan said the agency asked for $41.65 million to support the technology‑center funding formula; she noted the legislature provided a $10 million increase the previous year and the agency is again seeking additional funding to expand capacity and reduce student waiting lists. She described the request as draft and said staff will follow up with technology center superintendents and finalize requests for the board in October.

Hagan identified specific items in the request: a statutory flex‑benefit allowance increase that she estimated will require about $1.3 million (for technology center teachers and support staff); continued program support for K‑12 CareerTech programs (support amounts reported to range roughly from $8,000 to $15,000 per program); a small K‑12 incentive for career‑tech teachers (reported at about $2,200 to $2,600); statutory pay for agricultural teachers as 12‑month employees (the agency covers two summer months); and a multi‑part effort to serve “white‑space” areas not currently inside a technology‑center district.

On expansion, Hagan described an incentive of $250,000 per school to accelerate the annexation of districts into…