City schools receive $10 million grant for career, tech center renovations, programs
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 — The Bardstown City Schools have been awarded a $10 million grant that will be used to renovate the district’s existing elementary school into a local area vocational education center.
At Tuesday’s board of education meeting, Tim Beck, the district’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, explained that earning the LAVEC grant was a process that actually began in 2015. That’s when the school board began to ramp up the district’s efforts to attract students into career and technical education (CTE).
Between 2015 and 2017, CTE enrollment increased from 32 students to 113.
Phase 2 — which took place between 2018 and 2020 — additional work was done to add more CTE career pathways; the district helped develop new pathways, including health science, engineering and teaching and learning. With a new Workforce Development Coordinator, the district formed partnerships with local business and industry.
The final phase was to develop a plan for the old elementary school to transform it into a technical education center. It was the groundwork from 2015 that allowed the district to qualify to apply for the LAVEC grant, Beck explained.
Andy Stone praised the district’s leadership who helped make the workforrce development happen.
Beck told the board that earning the $10 million grant is the result of the board’s leadership in pushing forward to build the district’s workforce develeopment efforts.
The board voted to approve acceptance of the LAVEC grant award.
MIDDLE SCHOOL BLEACHERS. The board approved a BG-1 application to replace the bleachers at the Bardstown Middle School gym.
Superintendent Ryan Clark said the bleachers were in need of replacement. They existing ones date from the school’s construction and are hard to move back and forth. The goal is to replace them with modern bleachers around the first of next year.
The BG-1 application provides cost and funding information to the Kentucky Department of Education’s District Facilities Branch, which is reviewed prior to the start of the project.
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