Board signs off on CareerTech lottery scholarships and K–12 and tech-center grants

The Oklahoma CareerTech State Board approved a slate of lottery-funded scholarships and grant awards for schools and technology centers.

Corey Gray presented the FY2025 Lottery Education Trust Fund CareerTech scholarship summary and told the board that CareerTech allocated 400 scholarships in the fiscal year totaling $375,512.42, noting that the agency pays the funds in arrears. “This money we actually have in the bank and that we are spending,” Gray said, walking the board through the scholarship timeline across fall 2024, spring 2025 and projected summer payments.

Gray also presented K–12 lottery grant awards. The board packet listed program-area awards; Gray said the typical K–12 grant amount presented was $15,000 per site to be used for innovative equipment for classrooms. Examples board members discussed included robots and 3D printers for STEM, hydroponic systems for agricultural classrooms, and ovens and sewing equipment for family and consumer sciences.

For technology centers, Gray described a noncompetitive $100,000 grant opportunity (awarded every other year, requiring application) and competitive grants capped at $50,000. Gray explained that grants are initially scored by subject-matter divisions (for example, ag grants are scored by the agriculture division) and that lottery funds are distributed approximately 45% to technology center grants, 45% to K–12 grants and 10% to lottery scholarships.

Board members moved and seconded approval of the scholarship report and both the K–12 and technology-center grant recipients; each motion passed on roll-call votes with all members present voting yes.

The director noted some grants funded items that can be used across programs, such as patient-care simulators and virtual-dissection tables, and emphasized that lottery funds are allocated as received (paid in arrears).