Board approves three‑year pilot with 2 20 Youth Leadership for work‑based learning despite questions on cost
Summary
The New Albany‑Floyd County school board approved a three‑year workplace learning agreement with 2 20 Youth Leadership LLC after debate over a roughly $172,000 contract and uncertainty about how many student enrollments are needed for the program to 'pay for itself.'
New Albany‑Floyd County Schools approved a three‑year workplace learning agreement with 2 20 Youth Leadership LLC after a separate vote on the consent agenda on Jan. 20.
The agreement was presented as a spring pilot that will not charge the district for this semester; district staff said future years would be part of a three‑year contract estimated at about $172,000 total, or roughly $57,000 per year. “For this semester, we are not being charged anything,” a district presenter said during discussion. The program is intended to provide flexible, online work‑based learning modules students can complete outside the school day.
Superintendent Doctor Madison and staff described the proposal as a way to expand opportunities for students who cannot take traditional internships because of athletics, band or other scheduling constraints. Staff said the financial model depends on how many students enroll, the state reimbursement tied to diploma seals and the district’s career and technical education (CTE) funding. “We worked on a calculator…to see how many students we would need to break even,” a district official said.
Board members pressed staff for more detail on the reimbursement assumptions and the program’s projected enrollment needed to offset costs. One board member said she did not feel comfortable approving a $172,000 commitment without clearer numbers; another noted the pilot offer and Title funding cover the first semester.
The board ultimately voted to approve the agreement. The motion passed by recorded tally: 4 yes, 2 no, 1 abstention. The board removed the workplace learning item from the consent agenda for separate consideration before the vote.
Next steps: staff said they will communicate pilot enrollment information to counselors and parents, continue outreach to potential internship partners, and return with additional financial details and break‑even estimates as the pilot progresses.
