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A problem that Christie Finley calls “a big problem” is still a problem.
That’s why Huntsville school officials and Mayor Tommy Battle gathered Friday at Jamison High School to announce what’s expected to be a solution: a 60,000-square-foot career-technical center the school system will soon build next to its new central office on Memorial Parkway. .
Finley, superintendent of the Huntsville school system, said there are 600 students on a waiting list to enroll in career technology programs.
“What we’re seeing is that we’re not meeting the needs of the students who want to get into the program,” Finley said. “It’s a big problem. And the amazing solution was that the city donated not only the central office, but more importantly, 14 acres of land to house this new vocational technical facility.
Early last year, he announced plans to move the school’s central office from the aging Mertz Center to the Max Luther Drive and Memorial Parkway site on White Street near downtown, as well as the city donating $1 million to the construction project.
Those plans initially called for a retail development on the site along with the school’s central office, but a future effort would add a career technology center to make room for the school system.
Finley said the two buildings are projected to cost $40 million to build — with $25 million earmarked for the career technology center. Construction is expected to begin next year, and students are expected to be at the tech center by the end of 2025.
Huntsville City Schools has about 20 Career Tech programs spread across multiple schools in the district. The Career Technology Center will bring many of these under one roof, while other programs will remain where they are due to investments already made.
Finley said vocational technology — which includes training for jobs like welding, HVAC and plumbing, among others — is no longer seen.
“Too often students graduate without really knowing what to do,” Finley said. “And that was the stigma of going into career technology as part of an elective as a high school student many years ago. It is no longer a stereotype. We have students who want to be in these programs. They know that right out of school leads to opportunities in the workforce, some of our students are entering as juniors in some of our programs.
Michelle Watkins, District 1 representative on the school board, said, “Many people who know me are intimately familiar with career technology and dear to my heart. I taught vocational technology. Career technology is the reason they are housed in this building. From plumbing to electricity to construction. It’s all about career technology. And if we can’t send our kids to college when they graduate from high school, we need to send them to work for a living wage.
“This is a big deal for our city,” school board president Carlos Matthews said.
Along with industrial growth in the city and the need to build more housing for a growing population, the demand for career technology hires in Huntsville is increasing.
“Maybe[graduates]aren’t going to college or maybe they’re going to a two-year program, but they’re going to go straight into the workforce and that opportunity and opportunity is the most important thing today,” Battle said. “They have an opportunity to go out and get a good job. Get a job that pays $50,000 a year that puts a ceiling on themselves where they can put benefits on the table. They can raise a family and they have the ability to do that and that’s what’s so important about it. The idea that our technical center is located here is a great opportunity for our community.” He does great things.
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