A commitment from Fort Scott Community College to have at least one construction trades class puts a proposed technical education center in LaHarpe one large step closer to reality.
The announcement was made Wednesday at a meeting of area school and community college officials that FSCC has committed to offering the construction classes this fall.
Much remains on the center’s “to do” list before the first hammer is swung, noted Marmaton Valley USD 256 Superintendent of Schools Ken McWhirter.
Next on the agenda is getting a former Diebolt Lumber Company storage building and workshop up to code.
A special layer of fire-proof Sheetrock is necessary before a portion of the structure can be used for classes, McWhirter explained.
The cost has been pegged at between $20,000 and $25,000. Other portions of the building also will need to be upgraded for other potential courses, such as welding, costing an additional $75,000 or so.
But for now, the focus is on getting an area prepared for the construction class, McWhirter said
Still to be ironed out is who will pay for the upgrades, according to McWhirter and Jack Koehn, USD 257 Superintendent of Schools.
Several options are being considered, perhaps most prominently grant funding.
Thrive Allen County has in recent days announced its support for the tech ed center, and is assisting the schools in the search for grants.
In addition, having the college’s commitment will make it easier for school officials to reach out to a number of business leaders to see if they’d now be willing to offer support, financial or otherwise.
All the while, FSCC will begin developing its construction trades class, likely available to juniors and seniors.
“Basic woodshop classes will still be handled at their respective high schools,” McWhirter said.
WITH pre-enrollment already underway for next fall for most districts, time is of the essence, McWhirter and Koehn agreed.
“We know we have several students already interested,” Koehn said.
Because the courses will be longer than traditional school class time — students will be at the center for either morning or afternoon sessions — schools almost certainly will need to offer “embedded” credits.
