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Parents propose expanded ACT/FFA vocational program; say they will not ask district for funds
Summary
A parent-led advisory group outlined plans to expand ACT/FFA and vocational offerings at Washington Community Schools — including greenhouse, welding and construction projects — saying the group will fund work through a memorial fund and volunteer support rather than district dollars.
Grant Shuckman, speaking for a parent advisory group, told the Washington Community Schools board the group has formed the Cooper Shuckman Memorial FFA fund and is proposing a scaled-up vocational program across the district.
“We're not asking for money. We're not asking for any money. That's that's what we want to do,” Grant Shuckman said, asking the board only for permission, administrative support and cooperation on space and student assignments.
Shuckman described short-term goals that include expanding classroom space (clearing old audiovisual equipment from the teacher's office), organizing the welding shop inventory with volunteer professionals, and building a greenhouse on an out-of-use tennis court to support horticulture projects. Volunteers and donated materials would be used for shop improvements and construction projects, he said.
The group also proposed program elements aimed at career pathways: collaboration with junior-high students and other school groups, professional-development support for the ACT teacher (named in the transcript as Miss Ning), and developing course sequences that the advisory committee said could lead to vocational certificates and postsecondary options. Shuckman said an aspirational long-term target is a 50% increase in enrollment for the program.
Shuckman described how the parent effort began after fundraising at a memorial for his son, Cooper, and how donations led to creation of the named fund. He said the advisory committee — which he characterized as roughly a half-dozen parents and local professionals — would provide volunteer labor, leadership training for staff, and help arrange dual-credit and certificate pathways.
The board did not take formal action on the proposal at the meeting. Administrators in the room (including the district principal who introduced the agenda item) were described as supportive in the presentation; Shuckman repeatedly emphasized the group’s intent to partner with the district rather than request operating dollars.
What happens next: Shuckman invited board members and administrators to follow up with the advisory group and indicated the group will proceed with volunteer organizing and program planning. He asked that counselors help recruit students for the courses and that the district maintain or increase program budget lines during annual budgeting, while he reiterated that the group would not ask for direct funding in the near term.
