Computer Science and Maintenance Electrician

This morning I’m starting my day in the Dunkirk school district where I’m traveling with our capital project team to visit a new P-TECH center that’s opening in February, 2018. P-Tech stands for Pathways in Technology Early College High School and we have the possibility to bring a center to our school district.

What would you think about a P-TECH center right here in Springville? Working with Alfred State University and Erie 2 BOCES, we would offer two pathways for students: Computer Science and Electrical Construction and Maintenance Electrician. Through this collaboration, students would be concurrently enrolled in high school and college course work. Students would complete the six-year program with their Regents diploma from SGI and Associates Degree from Alfred State. This program would be available to our SGI students and other students in our region.

Imagine if we have the chance to build partnerships with area industries and equip our students to fill vacancies in high need areas! A P-TECH center on our campus could also be used for adult learning in the evenings and help to grow our vibrant community. We could renovate  the district office building into a vital P-TECH learning center through a capital project that would allow the local costs of the project to be fully paid by BOCES through rent for their programs.

Renovating the District Office into a student space makes good financial sense for us too. The way state aid on a capital project works is that any non-student occupied space, like our current district office, gets ZERO state aid back for work we have to do to maintain the building like our roof replacement. In our student occupied spaces, work is eligible for 79.8% state aid back. In the case of this P-TECH project, it would be a state aided capital project AND BOCES would pay the 21.2% local taxpayer share through their rent of the space.

1. BOCES programs for area HS students in two viable trades for which industry is experiencing shortages.
2. Springville owned building, renovated with zero cost to the local taxpayers.
3. Springville students can attend the program, right here in district.
4. Adult learning opportunities in the center in the afternoons/evening, possibly with Alfred State (how awesome would that be?!)

As I’ve been researching this opportunity and planning with BOCES over these last few weeks, I can’t come up with a reason for us NOT to do this in Springville. Can you? What an opportunity for a learning center, right here in Springville!

We would look to open the center in September, 2018, utilizing four classrooms at SHS and needing six classrooms in September, 2019. To open the renovated center in September, 2020, we would need to bring the project to a vote in May of this school year. I recommend we do so with our regular budget vote to save on the cost of a capital project vote.

Much more to follow, including public meetings to answer questions and review details. Please contact me with any feedback. As always, I’d love to hear what you think!