LRTC officials report enrollment gains, new CTE programs and an $84,000 subsidy variance

Rob Callahan, director of the Lewiston Regional Technical Center (LRTC), and Matt West, LRTC assistant director, briefed the Auburn School Committee on March 12 on cost center 3 (career and technical education), presenting program growth, new offerings and a state subsidy outlook.

Callahan said the CTE program at Edward Little High School and regional partners has grown faster than expected: "We're up by over 100 applications even now with still a month to go in our cycle," he told the committee, and he said community and employer partners — including the Auburn Fire Department and local businesses — have supported program expansion.

Matt West described new and expanding programs: the criminal-justice program relocated from Lewiston to Auburn; a hospitality and culinary program with growing days of operation; cosmetology partnerships with Aveda that create a postsecondary pipeline; a second-year early-childhood program aimed at state CECA certification; a grant-funded, state-of-the-art EMT mannequin; and ongoing collaboration with the Auburn Fire Department for firefighting instruction. West said LRTC will open an auto collision repair program at Edward Little High School in fall 2025 and plans two CTE Exploration programs in fall 2026 targeting ninth- and tenth-grade students in health and trades.

West also noted SkillsUSA participation: LRTC planned to send 105 students to statewide SkillsUSA competitions, including 19 Edward Little students. Student representative Connor Dufour was among those competing.

Callahan explained the CTE subsidy mechanics the state uses and why equipment and transportation remain local funding pressures. He said the state formula yields about $5.3 million in subsidy for the region; LRTC’s budget for the year is $5,392,000 with an estimated subsidy of $5,308,000, leaving a variance of roughly $84,000 to be divided among partner districts under the regional cost-sharing agreement. He said Auburn’s resulting contribution would be about $18,000 under that allocation.

Callahan and West said the budget request includes funds to start the collision-repair program (specialized equipment such as a spray booth and paint) and to pay for consumables in trade programs (metal, lumber, welding supplies). They also proposed adding a dedicated student-services advisor to serve the Edward Little campus — they estimated about 225 students there next year and another 25 to 30 students taking classes at Central Maine Community College — to strengthen internships, plant tours and career advisement.

Committee members asked several operational questions, including a clarification on an enrollment-based tuition-payment line. The presenters confirmed a previously cited $74,800 tuition number was revised and that the current packet estimate for Auburn’s share was $18,331. Callahan said the LRTC budget was largely flat-funded but had targeted increases to cover equipment, consumables and the proposed student-services position.

Callahan and West said the regional model has allowed LRTC to scale programming and that future expansion to earlier grades and middle-school exposure programs (including a 'Trades for Me' program for young women and a Project Ignite pre-engineering pathway) are planned to improve retention and career pathway awareness.

Callahan and West asked the committee to consider the program’s value to students and the community as budget deliberations continue.