CCISD photo The Copper Country Intermediate School District’s Construction Trades program has constructed a number of student-led residential home construction projects.

HANCOCK — When George Stockero was hired as the Copper Country Intermediate School District superintendent in 2014, the CCISD began searching for ways to expand its Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. There were several reasons for this. Among them was a significant lack of locally available skilled trade labor that inhibited businesses from expanding. At the same time, there was a high number of high school graduates relocating to other regions due to a lack of gainful employment in their communities.

When Stockero became the superintendent, there were just 115 students enrolled in the CTE program, primarily because schools were required to pay a $1,500 tuition for their students to participate in the program.

In April, 2016, the Portage Health Foundation provided a $50,000 grant to the ISD for a second year to assist in lowering the tuition cost each school was required to pay for CTE classes from $1,500 to $1,000. The program grew, because the grant allowed schools to permit three students to participate rather than two.

Expanding participation encouraged the CCISD School Board to pursue a millage dedicated to the development and expansion of a CTE program. Of the 56 intermediate school districts in the Upper Peninsula in 2017, 34 of them already have a dedicated millage, Stockero said at the time.

Gogebic-Ontonagon, Dickinson-Iron, Delta-Schoolcraft, all have a dedicated millage, Stockero said. Neither did the eastern U.P., and the eastern U.P. was currently seeking one.

In August, 2017, voters in Houghton, Keweenaw and Baraga counties approved, by a two-to-one margin, a millage request, of 0.9797 mills. The millage is up for renewal in May.

The CCISD’s CTE program has grown significantly since then. In 2018, there were 198 students from throughout the Copper Country taking CTE classes at no cost to the local school districts, thanks to the millage passage. Nine years later, the program now numbers more than 350 students, says Soumis.

The millage is set for a renewal in May and earlier this month, CTE Director Corey Soumis and CCISD Superintendent Jim Rautiola gave a video presentation to interested voters at the Bluffs, in Houghton, to discuss the success of the CTE program while seeking a CTE millage renewal.

Rautiola said the CTE program offers students pathways in automotive technology, construction technology, welding/manufacturing, health occupations, including Certified Nursing Assistant, allowing many students to find good jobs in the local community.

Soumis said the CCISD has partnerships with Gogebic Community College, Michigan Tech, where the CT Engineering Design Program is taught, and Keweenaw Bay Ojibway Community College in Baraga. The Construction Trades program also partners with several local businesses to provide students on site, hands on experience and learning.

The Construction Trades program has constructed a couple of houses, one in Hancock and another in Baraga County.

Mike Randell, Construction/Building Trades instructor, said the construction of the homes was from start to finish.

“We start with dirt work (site preparation), then the foundation, working with concrete, then through the framing, setting trussess, roofing, soffit and fascia, which are essential exterior components that protect a home’s roofline and rafters from moisture and pests while providing attic ventilation.”

The program covers all aspects of residential home-building, Randell said. “We do cover electrical; we touch on mechanical (heating/AC,) and plumbing,” he said. “But we utilize our industry partners especially to come in and work with the students. That’s the biggest benefit to the program is having partnerships with these local contractors to come in and help the kids in those fields.”