RIGBY — Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield and other elected officials were in Rigby Tuesday afternoon for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new career technical education building in Jefferson School District No. 251.
Construction is currently underway on a 30,000 square foot steel building on the Rigby High School campus. The building will house an auto body shop, robotics, cybersecurity and certified nursing assistant programs.
District Superintendent Chad Martin expects it to be completed by the end of December.
“I think everything is in place. Obviously, some things are outside of your control. (barring any potential delays) the plan is to be completed by then and we are committed to that.” I'm looking forward to it,” Martin told EastIdahoNews.com.
RELATED | Rigby High School students will have access to career technical education facilities from $5.3 million grant
The project is funded by a $5.3 million grant awarded in November from the Idaho Career Ready Student Program. This comes in the wake of two bonds the district failed to pass in 2023. The original plan was to convert the middle school into a CTE center, so getting a brand new building is an added bonus for the district.
Related | Small bonds succeed, big bonds fail in Jefferson School District 251
Related | Jefferson School District seeks $75 million and $5 million in bonds to build middle school and gymnasium
Critchfield's office is responsible for making funding available to the district, and he mentioned that in his remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony.
“Some of my team in Boise are local representatives, and two of them, Sen. Van Burtenshaw and Rep. Gerald Raymond, helped sponsor the bill to get the grant money. Thank you for your cooperation,” Critchfield told the students.
The high school currently has an active CTE program in a building just north of where the new building will be located. Martin said the building is “bursting at the seams” and that the new building is an expansion that will provide much-needed additional space for students and teachers.
R&M Steel of Caldwell donated the building's initial frame structure. Martin is grateful for all the support and grants that made this project possible. He looks forward to seeing the building completed and opening it to students.
“Now that it’s all together, it’s going to be a great resource for students,” Martin said.
Critchfield recognized all those who helped make this project a reality.
“Everything that's going on here is going to pay off,” Critchfield told the crowd. “I can't wait to see what impact this will have on your community. I'm so happy to be a part of it.”
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