Parent urges Harrisonburg board to reconsider rejoining regional technical center (MTC) during public comment
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Summary
A Harrisonburg parent and employer asked the school board to reconsider rejoining the regional technical center (MTC), saying local graduates have filled skilled positions in his company and arguing a separate local CTE program may not replace MTC—s offerings.
HARRISONBURG, Va. — During the non-agenda public-comment period at the Sept. 2 Harrisonburg City School Board meeting, parent Andrew Jenner urged the board to reconsider rejoining the regional technical center (MTC/NTC).
"Please please reconsider," Jenner said, describing his personal and professional connection to the center: his wife works at MTC and he hires MTC graduates in the solar industry. He told the board that he currently employs three graduates in an electrical apprenticeship program and expects a fourth to start soon, and argued that a thriving brick-and-mortar vocational center is important to local employers.
Jenner said the county board initiated the split and that he has been asked to provide input to the county's planning process for its future CTE offerings; he told the board the city should either rejoin MTC or invest sufficiently in the city—s planned CTE alternatives rather than duplicating efforts.
The board did not take action in response to the comment; staff and board members had previously convened a group to design the city—s next-phase CTE program after the split from MTC, and board members mentioned ongoing CTE re-envisioning work elsewhere on the agenda.