Career Center

Franklin County's career and technology center will showcase the school's $14 million renovation and expansion during a day-long open house Saturday. The open house at the newly named CareerTech is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school's campus on Loop Road. A full day of activities is on tap including tours of the school at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon. “I'm hoping that the public sees the value in what they have invested in in order to upgrade (our facilities) and move this school forward for the future,” said Keith Yohn, administrative director of CareerTech.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Waynesboro Area School Board had many questions during Tuesday's pitch for another school district to take over the county career and technology center, but it has put off expressing its feelings on the matter. The board questioned enrollment projections, four-year commitments, per-student costs and future construction during a presentation by Chambersburg Area School District Superintendent Joseph Padasak, board member Stanley Helman and career center academics principal Mark Scheitle.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The past four years at the Franklin County Career and Technology Center have been interesting for Principal Michele Orner as the six school districts that send students have tried to resolve issues about its operation and future. "I've had four outstanding years here," said Orner, who will leave in October to become an 11th-grade principal at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, Pa. "Good things happen at this school every day. " While that might be true, the center is experiencing changes unlike anything that has happened previously in its 40-year history.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Final recommendations from a consultant regarding the Franklin County (Pa.) Career and Technology Center will go before its governing body tonight, along with a letter from the Waynesboro Area School Board condemning the consultant's call for a half-day program. That program would involve students from the six county school districts splitting their time between academic classes at their high schools and vocational classes at the career center. "Part time, half-day causes us to lose instructional time for transportation," Waynesboro Superintendent Barry Dallara told his school board earlier this week.

McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. - More than 700 workers laid off last month from JLG Industries Inc., got a ray of hope Friday with the announcement by State Sen. Robert C. Jubelirer, R-Fulton, that Fulton County would soon have a $200,000 state grant to open a career center that might help them find new jobs. The center is expected to open in early November if a site can be found. It will offer furloughed workers help with job searches, education and retraining, according to a release from Jubelirer's office.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Major changes are needed at the Franklin County Career and Technology Center, and incoming Chambersburg Area School District superintendent Joseph Padasak says the half-day delivery system adopted this year by the district "is not the best thing for the children long-term. " Padasak, who will take over the administrative reins from retiring superintendent Edwin Sponseller on July 1, outlined some of the options Wednesday at a special meeting of the school board that was attended by representatives of some of the other five districts that send students to the career center.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Forty-five minutes of discussion ensued Tuesday when Waynesboro Area School Board members debated whether to have an appraisal done on Franklin County (Pa.) Career and Technology Center land and whether to foot the bill themselves. They ultimately agreed to pay one-fifth of the appraisal bill, which was quoted at $2,500. They plan to ask that the other portions be paid by the Tuscarora, Fannett-Metal, Greencastle-Antrim and Shippensburg Area school districts. The appraisal would be an early component in a counterproposal to Chambersburg Area School District's offer to take over ownership and operation of the career center.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Department of Education stalled the Franklin County Career and Technology Center (FCCTC) renovation project this week, a move that could cost area school districts more money. The department raised questions about the Chambersburg Area School District (CASD) building its own wing at the FCCTC, forcing the career center to halt plans to renovate its existing facility on Guilford Springs Road. Josh Bower, from Mechanicsburg, Pa., architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, said the initial concept was for CASD's wing and the FCCTC renovation to be bid and built comprehensively.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - The Tuscarora School Board Monday voted to support the Waynesboro Area School District's plan for the Franklin County Career and Technology Center with some additions suggested by Superintendent Rebecca E. Erb. Last month, Waynesboro Superintendent Barry Dallara offered a plan for the future of the center as an alternative to the Chambersburg Area School District proposal to take over its ownership and operation. That plan would keep the existing center under the ownership and control of the six participating districts while offering to sell Chambersburg about 35 acres to construct an academic building for its career and technology students.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Waynesboro Area School Board will incur $2.4 million worth of debt for a Franklin County Career and Technology Center renovation project if neighboring school districts also agree to the construction efforts. The borrowing translates into an additional .394 mill of taxes for property owners in the Waynesboro area each year for 30 years. Waynesboro will be paying 12.93 percent of the total project costs, which are not to exceed $15 million. A mill represents $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

Franklin County's career and technology center will showcase the school's $14 million renovation and expansion during a day-long open house Saturday. The open house at the newly named CareerTech is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school's campus on Loop Road. A full day of activities is on tap including tours of the school at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon. “I'm hoping that the public sees the value in what they have invested in in order to upgrade (our facilities) and move this school forward for the future,” said Keith Yohn, administrative director of CareerTech.

The Waynesboro Area School Board has whittled down a budget shortfall for 2013-14, preliminarily approving a $49 million spending plan that does not raise taxes. The board has until June 30 to adopt a final budget. On Tuesday, the district's business administrator, Thomas Dick, talked to the school board about an $832,765 deficit he had anticipated. He said the administration and school board's budget committee eliminated that deficit over the past month using several methods.

Two Franklin County Career and Technology Center students will compete against students from across the country next month for more than $3 million in prizes and scholarships. Brandon Clever, a senior in the Greencastle-Antrim School District, and Josh Long, a senior who is home-schooled from Greencastle-Antrim, are third-semester students in Bobby Bard's automotive technology class at the center. Bard is a big believer in Brandon and Josh's talents after seeing them roll over the competition at the state level on Feb. 21 in Hershey, Pa. These are the guys you want working on your cars, Bard said about his “winning team.” Brandon and Josh faced teams from nine other Pennsylvania schools in a three-hour, hands-on test of diagnostic skills.

Suzette Snyder, labor exchange administrator, CPRW for Western Maryland, recently signed a statement of support for the National Guard and Reserve. The statement-of-support program has been the cornerstone of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves effort to gain and maintain employer support. The intent of the program is to increase employer support of the Guard and Reserve by developing employers that advocate for employee participation in the military. The statement confirms that Washington County Workforce Services joins other employers in pledging that: We fully recognize, honor and enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act. Our managers and supervisors will have the tools they need to effectively manage those employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.

Penn State Mont Alto's continuing-education program and the Franklin County (Pa.) Career and Technology Center are ending the partnership that allowed for adult vocational course offerings. The “mutually agreed-upon decision” to end their partnership at the career center goes into effect for the 2012-13 school year, according to a news release issued Friday. Penn State Continuing Education was occupying office and classroom space while administering post-secondary vocational classes for adults.

Chambersburg Area School District families that want to learn more about a new career magnet school in the district can attend a forum Thursday evening. The forum is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. in Chambersburg Area Senior High School's auditorium. Serving grades nine through 12, the career magnet school is being built on the Franklin County (Pa.) Career and Technology Center campus off Loop Road. Construction on 21 classrooms, which will serve 500 students, is expected to be completed in July.

As early as next month, the Franklin County Career and Technology Center will offer a new mechanical-assembly training program created through a partnership with Volvo Construction Equipment designed to give students an edge in today's tough job market. Career Center Director Keith Yohn said students selected for the new course "will have an advantage in the labor market over other students they graduate with. " As the need for workers with assembly-related skills continues to grow, Yohn said this partnership would provide a ready-made workforce.

Heavy equipment moved mounds of dirt Friday at the Franklin County Career & Technology Center as work kicked into high gear on the center's renovation and expansion project. The $14 million project will renovate and add space to the existing 158,000-square-foot building originally built in 1969. Keith Yohn, administrative director of the center, said the building is long overdue for improvements. “Some of the programs need a little more space,” Yohn said. “We definitely needed to update the aesthetics inside the building and upgrade the equipment to keep pace with technological advances to better prepare the students for what they have coming down the road.