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CTE director outlines $52M secondary grants, VR investments and shift toward output‑based funding
Summary
Wade Sick, state director for Career and Technical Education, briefed the committee on a $52 million secondary grants line, a $1 million CareerView XR virtual‑reality initiative, work‑based learning grants, capital projects across multiple CTE centers, and a proposed move to output‑based funding tied to concentrator and work‑based learning metrics.
Wade Sick, state director of the Department of Career and Technical Education, presented a wide‑ranging update that covered staffing, program grants, capital projects, and a proposed funding‑policy change.
Sick said the largest line in the department’s biennial budget is a roughly $52,000,000 secondary grants appropriation used to support CTE centers and programs; roughly $48.3 million of that is reserved for CTE program operations. He summarized federal Perkins authority and said Perkins reimbursements support curriculum, professional development and equipment purchases.
Sick described recent and ongoing capital projects, reporting that most new centers are open or near closeout (Bakken Area Skills Center, Bismarck Career Academy, Career Innovation Center in Fargo, Grand Forks Career Impact Academy, North Valley, Minot Area Workforce Academy, Williston Basin and others). He said many projects remain in punch‑list or equipment procurement stages and noted remaining obligated but unspent grant amounts for some centers.
On innovation, the department has funded a CareerView XR virtual‑reality career exploration platform with a $1,000,000 one‑time appropriation (Sick reported $900,000 spent for statewide K–12 access and $100,000 for an elementary portal). The department also funded an autonomous technology / UAS grant and expanded work‑based learning coordinator grants (21 coordinators funded to date) with a $2,000,000 work‑based learning line.
Sick proposed a shift in funding toward outputs: beginning in the 2026–27 school year, the department will provide a flat per‑FTE base allocation for instructional and counseling FTEs and additional performance dollars for meeting targets such as CTE concentrator rates, work‑based learning participation, the number of programs offered, and the number of member schools served. He acknowledged concerns about high‑cost, low‑enrollment programs (for example CDL courses) and said the department plans carve‑outs and startup funding to protect those offerings.
Sick also said the department will act as the district for CTE centers in Infinite Campus to improve student‑level data capture, enabling better tracking of enrollments, work‑based learning hours and outcomes.
Ending: Members recommended careful implementation and oversight; Sick said the department will continue refining the policy math and guardrails and will return with additional details in budget hearings.
