Brookfield Local School District has been awarded a sizable state grant to expand its career-technical education offerings.
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce announced Sept. 25 that Brookfield had been awarded $1,444,402 from the Ohio Career Technical Education Equipment Grant Program, one of 34 schools to receive money through the second round of funding.
“The purpose of the Ohio Career Technical Education Equipment Grant Program is to award competitive grants to schools to establish or expand CTE programs, with priority for programs that support careers on Ohio’s Top Jobs List and establish or expand credentialing programs from the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation Innovative Workforce Incentive Program list,” according to the state website.
Brookfield will use the grant to establish a “new pathway to graduation in engineering and science technologies,” said school Supt. Toby Gibson. “This new pathway will begin in the 2025-2026 school year and incorporate new industry-recognized credentials that will equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to be career-ready upon graduation, setting them up for success in both the workforce and their future endeavors. This grant funding is not only for equipment and staff training, but can also be used for facility expansion and upgrades.”
It’s too soon to say whether current staff will be able to teach the new program, what equipment will be bought or if the school building will need to be expanded to accommodate the new equipment, he said.
“Right now we have a general plan of what we want to do; we will work through the school year to narrow it down and develop the details depending on which IRCs are provided,” Gibson said.
The district already offers the students the opportunity to earn industry-recognized credentials in the Industry 4.0 class and students work on automation and robotics equipment.
Brookfield was the only school in Trumbull County to receive second-round funding. Only six schools received larger grants than Brookfield’s.
