Washtenaw ISD outlines plan to expand career-technical education, cites $5 million application and private partners

Dr. Ryan Rowe of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District told the Dexter Community School District Board of Education that the ISD is pursuing countywide strategies to expand career-technical education (CTE), including an application for $5,000,000 to implement recommendations from a University of Michigan Youth Policy Lab report.

Rowe said Washtenaw County has a decentralized CTE system in which most of the roughly 70 programs are housed at traditional high schools, creating what he called “CTE deserts” where students cannot access programs that exist in other districts. He said countywide CTE enrollment increased from 1,866 to more than 3,100 over four years even as the county’s ninth–12th grade population decreased, and that funding and transportation constraints limit further growth.

“Enrollment is below demand, so we cannot keep up with the level of demand that we have for our CTE programs today,” Rowe said. He described work with business partners such as Toyota and Zoller Manufacturing, postsecondary institutions including Washtenaw Community College, Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan, and community groups including Michigan Works and United Way.

Why it matters: Rowe framed the effort as a response to both student interest and local labor shortages in health care, manufacturing and other fields. He said the ISD’s plan would increase early exposure to CTE (middle and early high school), expand program capacity and pursue funding models beyond current grants and district general-fund contributions.

Key details from the presentation: - Funding and costs: Rowe said the county receives approximately $585,000 in federal Perkins funding and about $850,000 in state added-cost funding—roughly $1,400,000 combined—and that districts currently contribute about $10,350,000 through general funds toward CTE. He said state and federal funding equates to about $679 per CTE student, while the average cost to run a CTE program is about $2,400 per student. - Grants and staffing: Rowe described a sequence of state equipment grants that funded program expansion—just over $500,000 in 2021–22, $576,000 the next year and $1,153,000 the following year—and said the most recent year produced no new equipment grant. He said the ISD applied for a $5,000,000 consolidation and infrastructure fund to implement the U-M Youth Policy Lab recommendations and has used earlier grant money to add CTE programs and equipment. - Programs and pilots: The ISD plans countywide pathways including a drone/aviation program (students could earn an FAA drone pilot credential), construction trades hubs with potential Westside and Eastside locations (including a proposed hub at Dexter), and entrepreneurship/business leadership tied to WCC coursework. Rowe said the ISD has hired a CTE coordinator, a work-based learning coordinator, a special-populations coordinator, a data-reporting specialist and a grant manager to support those efforts. - Private-sector partnerships: Rowe named employers that have internship and earn-and-learn models, citing Zoller Manufacturing’s internship program and Toyota’s Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) earn-and-learn model, where students work and attend college courses and can earn an associate degree while earning wages.

Questions from board members focused on private-sector funding commitments, how district general-fund contributions would change if a vocational millage were pursued, and the polling and community engagement steps Rowe said the ISD would use before moving to any ballot proposal. Rowe said 1 mill in Washtenaw County would generate roughly $20,000,000 because of the county’s tax base; he also noted that current law limits new vocational millages to 1 mill and requires renewal votes.

Rowe said the ISD will convene a public CTE summit and community report, conduct polling, and bring recommendations back to local superintendents and boards before any ballot measure would be proposed.

Ending: Rowe offered to follow up with district leaders with additional data the board requested, including follow-up survey results on student outcomes for program completers.