Houston Schools announced Monday it was the recipient of a second $400,000 grant for improvements to the Piney River Technical Center on campus.
The Career and Technical Education Limited Access Grant (Round 2) was awarded to six education agencies across the state by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The district received the same total during Round 1 in January. Both include a 25-percent local financial match.
“We are extremely excited to hear of the recent CTE Limited Access Grant award announcement. In the upcoming weeks, we will be working aggressively to review the award parameters and local match feasibility and to potentially start aligning the project from the first award to the second award. With a local 25 percent match on each grant, the district will need to consider the most fiscally responsible approach to this opportunity.”
Dr. Justin Copley, superintendent of Houston Schools
The CTE Limited Access Grant was established through Missouri House Bill 2 and signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe. It is designed to address barriers to CTE programming in Skilled Technical Sciences and Health Science Education, particularly for districts that lack local access or require students to spend excessive time commuting to area career centers.
Houston High School students participate in CTE programs in Agriculture, Business, Building Trades, Family & Consumer Sciences, Graphic Arts, Health Science and Welding. The district said the newly awarded grant will strengthen and expand opportunities locally, reducing the need for travel and increasing access to vital career skills.
Copley said bid package information on the project will be released in the upcoming days.