Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career Technical Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears continuation request for ProStart culinary career program
Summary
Sen. Champion presented SF 993 to continue funding ProStart (Hospitality Minnesota Education Foundation), asking $250,000 in FY26 and $250,000 in FY27 to continue state support that previously expanded ProStart to more schools; committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion.
Sen. Champion presented Senate File 993 requesting continued funding for ProStart, the Hospitality Minnesota Education Foundation’s high school culinary and hospitality career education program.
Program and outcomes: ProStart supporters told the committee the program trains students in food safety, knife skills, leadership and workplace professionalism and connects students to postsecondary credit and employer networks. Student testifiers — ProStart alumni and current students from Cambridge-Isanti and other schools — described skills gained, college credits earned and connections to industry employers; testimony said prior funding expanded the program from about 45 schools to roughly 75 and increased enrollment from about 5,600 to 13,000 students statewide.
Fiscal request and rationale: The bill seeks a $250,000 appropriation in FY2026 and $250,000 in FY2027 to continue curriculum, teacher professional development and employer partnerships. The sponsor and industry representatives framed the request as a workforce pipeline investment for restaurants, hospitality and lodging industries facing labor shortages.
Committee action: The committee laid SF 993 over for possible inclusion; members discussed whether the funding might alternatively be routed through K–12 career and technical education but did not change the bill at the hearing.
