Mayor outlines $15M plan for countywide CTE campus, middle college program

Mayor Patty Woodby presented a proposal for a countywide centralized Career and Technical Education (CTE) campus and Middle College Path during the July 19 meeting, describing a partnership among the Carter County School System, Northeast State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Elizabethton.

Woodby said the centralized campus would consolidate duplicated programs now offered at multiple high schools so that the county can free funding and resources to add new high-demand programs. She described how the Middle College Path could allow students to earn an associate degree through coursework with Northeast State while still in high school, giving students a head start on postsecondary credentials. The mayor listed potential certificate and degree areas that corporate partners have expressed interest in supporting, including nuclear technologies, energy management, sustainable technology and biopharmaceutical technologies. She said the project is estimated to cost $15 million and that legislation for a pilot program would be introduced in the next legislative session with sponsorship from Senators Crowe and Lundberg and Representatives Campbell and Holtzclaw.

Why it mattered: the plan, if funded and implemented, would change the countys CTE delivery model and could expand postsecondary attainment options for local high-school students. The Carter County School System had obtained grant funding to support the Middle College development and officials are coordinating with state partners.

Next steps: the mayor said she had been invited to Nashville to present the idea to the governor and that county and school officials will continue work with state and institutional partners to finalize program details and pursue funding.