Southern Columbia advisory group removes accounting program, advances agriculture and aviation plans

The Southern Columbia Area School District local advisory committee confirmed it will remove the district’s accounting career-and-technical-education (CTE) program for the current application cycle and pursued plans to expand other CTE pathways, including a four‑year agriculture program and an aviation pathway that hinges on hiring a certified instructor.

The committee’s presenter summarized the accounting decision: “So we will be removing that program, for this this round,” saying the move was prompted by low enrollment and limited course offerings after the board’s December 2024 vote to mark the program for deletion.

Why it matters: district officials said shifting resources would let the district concentrate staffing and state-approval work where there is student interest and where the district can satisfy Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) requirements. Committee members highlighted that approved CTE pathways provide recognized graduation “concentrator” status for students and may help retain students who would otherwise attend programs in other districts.

Agriculture: Miss Yoder, the district’s agriculture instructor, laid out current courses and enrollment and described an expanded scope-and-sequence for next year. “I currently teach 4 classes,” she told the committee, and reported about 43 students attending daily with roughly 25 students active in FFA. She said the district is preparing a four‑year program application and has worked through a task list aligning classroom instruction with state CTE requirements.

Diversified occupations and co-op: staff told the group the district already operates a cooperative-education model that could be formalized as Diversified Occupations with state program approval. Mr. Rogan, who runs the district co-op program, described the practical difference: current senior-only co-op supervision meets once weekly, while a formal Diversified Occupations program would require more consistent in-school time or a daily class period depending on the pathway. Board members pressed on whether juniors could be included; staff cited PDE guidance and child-labor constraints that generally limit full-time placements to seniors, though short internships or job‑shadow experiences for juniors may be possible.

Aviation: district staff discussed an aviation pathway that would rely on finding an instructor with required aviation experience and a career-and-technical instructional certificate. The district already houses a flight simulator valued in the meetings at about $15,000 that was donated by a community partner; staff noted community offers of help. A public commenter, Ally Oley, wrote that Keystone Aviation Group “will do what they can to help support the aviation program” and offered certified flight instructors and an FAA A&P mechanic for hands‑on training.

Timeline and next steps: staff said the window for submitting program approval materials requires action in the near term and provided a May 31 deadline for the application process if the district intends the program to be considered for the following school year. The advisory committee recommended continuing outreach to recruit a certified instructor, finalizing curriculum tasks, and applying for program approval.

What remains unresolved: whether a junior‑year option can be routinely offered without state rule changes, and how the district will fund additional staff needed to run new pathways. Board members suggested seeking grant funds and regional partners if hiring a full‑time CTE instructor is necessary.

The advisory committee and district staff said they will return to the board with a formal program application and staffing plan and will continue outreach to community partners who offered support.