Those working to develop a regional career and technical education center in Macomb agree that it’s an important project, and that collaboration is essential.
“I’m still 100% in favor of a regional CTE program,” said Macomb School District Superintendent Patrick Twomey.
But what they disagree on is where to put it.
Twomey continues to lobby for building a facility on the Macomb High School campus.
The other partners, including Spoon River College, the Bushnell-Prairie City and West Prairie school districts, and the Macomb Area Economic Development Corporation, favor a site just east of the new SRC campus on East Jackson Street.
SRC President Curt Oldfield said that site, which the college bought about a year and a half ago, is in a much more visible location than the high school. He believes that’s important – he said the center should be prominent in the community.
“If it goes on the Macomb High School campus, it’s not visible to people who are coming into the community or people who are maybe looking quietly about bringing a business to Macomb,” Oldfield said.
He said the CTE center should also be a visible reminder to people that it’s never too late to learn a new skill and go into a hands-on field.
Twomey prefers the Macomb High campus because it would save time for the school’s students. He pointed out students from the other districts would need to drive to Macomb for the program whether it’s at the high school or the community college.
“By the time you dismiss kids from class, they go to their locker, they get their stuff, they get lined up, get ‘em on a bus, you drive over to Spoon River, you’re nearly half an hour. And then half an hour doing the same thing in reverse. So it takes an hour out of the kids’ school day in transportation,” Twomey said.
He said more Macomb students signed up for FFA when Macomb began offering the program on its campus rather than busing students to West Prairie.
Oldfield said SRC currently has Macomb High School students taking welding campuses on their new Macomb campus every day. They’ve also had students from the West Prairie School District taking daily classes in Macomb in the past.
The partners continue to talk through the issues. Oldfield hopes they can resolve the matter in the next month or two and start moving forward.
“Because at the end of the day, regardless of the location, we need to provide workforce solutions for the future, and so we’re not going to let the location divert us from that goal,” Oldfield said.
And Twomey said: “I’m not totally married to that idea” of locating it at MHS.
Twomey has said the Macomb district would pay for the facility with revenue generated from a new wind farm that will soon come online in the county.
Oldfield said SRC could pay for a facility on East Jackson with a combination of local funds, state funds, and grants. He feels a partnership that includes the county’s K-12 school districts, the community college, the region’s employers, and perhaps Western Illinois University would make the project competitive for grant funding.
Oldfield envisions starting with a building containing three labs with classrooms. He said they’ll need the ability to add onto it if the demand increases. He also said the classrooms and labs need to be flexible so that they can be reconfigured as workforce needs change.
He guessed it could cost around $10 million, an estimate he believes is on the high side.
The partners also continue to do their homework by visiting school districts that already have CTE programs in place. Oldfield said he looks forward to joining Twomey on future trips to Litchfield and Mattoon.
“As a life-long educator, that opportunity to learn from others is part of my DNA,” Oldfield said.
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