Superintendent announces MOU with Cedar Ridge to open local employment certification lab

Superintendent Devin reported to the board that the district has negotiated a memorandum of understanding with Cedar Ridge Behavioral Health to build an on-site employment lab intended to expand career and technical education options locally.

Devin said the lab will offer certification pathways in hospitality, food service, laundry, janitorial, landscape and maintenance, retail, digital media and T-shirt printing, construction trades, office and print shop skills, and child care. He described the arrangement as enlarging opportunities that previously required sending students to off-site partners such as Belmont.

"They are creating an employment lab...we're kinda beta testing them before they open it up to everybody else," Devin said, explaining that the lab aims to provide students with credentials they can use immediately after graduation. The superintendent framed the agreement as a way to help students graduate with marketable credentials on their diplomas.

Board members asked procedural questions about the contract and about which programs would continue to be partnered with outside providers. The item was presented as informational and for future implementation planning; no formal vote on the MOU was recorded during this meeting.