MENOMINEE – With new funding for Career and Technical Education, Menominee County, Mich., could develop a pipeline of workers trained in the construction trades, said Steve Martin, the superintendent of the county’s Intermediate School District.
In a presentation before the Menominee County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 8, Martin spoke about a referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot that would provide funds for Career Technical Education in the trades and help the overall community, which has a shortage of plumbers, electricians and other contractors in building and construction trades.
The Intermediate School District is asking voters to approve one million dollars annually for 10 years for the CTE program, Martin said. ISDs work with local school districts and the Michigan Department of Education to provide special services, such as technical education and special education. They often partner with area colleges and employers. In Menominee County, the CTE program is part of the general education budget, as the county doesn’t have a separate millage earmarked for vocational training, Martin said.
Menominee ranks 52 out 56 in Michigan for career tech education because it hasn’t been funded separately, according to Martin. By providing one million dollars annually dedicated to career and technical education, the referendum would allow the CTE program to grow. It could expand into more areas, such as building trades, and pay for busing and for classes up north, so students in the north end of the county can participate in the program.
County Board Chairman Larry Phelps asked Martin to elaborate on what the schools offer in agricultural sciences. “If you go to that classroom, they work with small animals, 4-H and they also get into the business of agriculture,” Martin said.
“What role do you play in job placement, the actual connection between employers for job placement for these students?” Phelps asked.
“It’s wrapped up into the CTE classes. They have an advisory committee of business owners,” Martin said. The program facilitates internships and summer employment opportunities, he added. In the health care pathway, students are encouraged to shadow nurses to learn more about what they do on the job.
This activity can lead to employment, Martin said.
For employers, these opportunities allow them to see students’ work habits, while students learn about expectations in the work world. “They get to learn the soft skills: Does this kid come on time? Are they appropriately dressed?
How do they talk to adults? Are they on their phone all day long?” Martin said.
“A lot of us in the workplace know that even if you don’t come in with all the right skills, but you come in with the right attitude and the right workplace skills, you can learn how to do business,” he said.
The Menominee ISD offers nine CTE programs, including welding, machine tool, automotive, health occupations, culinary art, teacher cadet, business management, accounting/finance and cosmetology. “It’s hugely popular,” with 65% to 70% of students in grades 9-12 participating, Martin said.
Many of the pathways were selected decades ago and don’t necessarily reflect worker shortages in the county, such as the need for more plumbers, electricians, heating and cooling contractors, painters, carpenters and child care workers.
Besides the construction trades, workers trained in automotive are in demand, Martin said. Anyone who has dropped off a car for repair and has been told to come back in five days because they’re too busy to get to it today should understand how an investment in the CTE program will benefit the community, he said. “It’s good for the entire community,” Martin added.
“One of the things we’re missing now is building trades. Building trades is huge,” Martin said. “You’re getting into residential heating and cooling, residential electric, residential plumbing. It’s such a diverse field. That’s a great place to start when you’re 18 years old,” he said. An 18-year-old plumber who’s ready to start working when they graduate from high school can get a job in the area, he said.
“Is this more of a ground-level-moving-up program?” Phelps asked. “Are there any standards where it goes into a journeyman position? Just wondering about the direction?”
If you’ve got a kid showing promise, it definitely can be, Martin replied.
While most Michigan counties have expanded their Career and Technical Ed programs since the ISDs started in the 1960s, and Menominee County’s ISD focuses on special educational services, such as speech, language and occupational therapy, Martin said. It also offers preventive education, such as the Healthy Youth Coalition and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides a free book monthly for children up to age five at library events. It also supports general education.
“For whatever reason, Menominee County ISD didn’t go into Career Tech Education,” he said. It’s offered through the general education program, but he said the ISD could expand CTE offerings with funding.
Menominee County ISD is one of just seven ISDs in Michigan without a designated CTE millage, he said. “It’s money that can be strongly invested in our county,” Martin said.
Menominee County ISD has $608 per student to work with, compared to a statewide average or $1,156, Martin said. The additional million would add $280 per student, which would still be $270 below the state average, he said.
The one million dollars the referendum is seeking would amount to about $1 per $1,000 in taxable value for area property owners, Martin said. A home valued at $200,000 has a taxable value of $100,000 and would pay $100 more per year, or about $8.31 a month, he added.
Because of local millages, Schoolcraft and Dickinson have more ISD funds, he said. “Those are advantages to living in those particular areas,” Martin said.
Menominee County, which recently welcomed a new HR director, has several open positions, Menominee County Administrator Jason Carviou said. Details are available on the county website for the following open positions: 911 telecommunicator, probation officer for district court, caseworker for custody and parenting time and correctional officers.
Carviou also is helping to recruit a Menominee Business Development Corporation executive director. The organization is a separate nonprofit that works with the city manager and county administrator, Carviou said. Details are on the county website under “Career Opportunities.” Brett Botbyl is the city manager.
The commissioners approved a corrected resolution related to compensation for nonunion county employees. Most nonunion employees moved up a step in pay or received a 2.5% pay increase effective Oct. 1. The pay raise is set to increase to 2.7% on Oct. 1, 2025, and Oct. 1, 2026. The Peshtigo Times had inquired about the compensation resolution in September when it reported on the original resolution, but didn’t receive a response from the county.
The commissioners approved an agreement for extension services with Michigan State University – Extension for $83,000 for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 for two half-time positions to coordinate and administer the 4-H program. MSU-Extension provides information and education on agriculture and agribusiness, children and youth development, health and nutrition, and community, food and environment.
Among expenditures approved at the meeting were $16,679 to purchase 16 computers and $18,220 to design yellow-striped taxi lanes for expansion at Menominee County Airport.
The county will sell 10 used county vehicles at an online auction to the highest bidder. They include a 2006 Chevrolet Express 2500, a 2008 Chevrolet Impala, a 1979 International Heavy Duty, a 2001 Ram 1500, a 1979 GMC Sierra 3500, 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe, a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe, a 2018 Ford
Explorer and two 2019 Ford Explorers. The county also is unloading other equipment, including a Buffalo turbine blower, a telescopic boom and a snow bucket and a Union Chill Mat Pre-Heater.
The county is shopping for a new park ranger vehicle for the Parks and
Recreation Department. Carviou said he drove to Appleton and Oshkosh to look at several vehicles advertised online, but learned they didn’t all match the online photos. “I looked at every dealer’s website for ¾-ton trucks. For Fords, I couldn’t find any vehicle close to our budget,” he said.
Bergstrom dealers had several trucks in the county’s price range, Carviou said.
With incentives, including a first-responder rebate, the county could purchase a black truck for about $46,672 or a white one for $46,372. Commissioners discussed at length whether to go with black or white, with Phelps saying, “I’m happy we’re getting this purchase,” and expressing an opinion for white. “Black shows up every little mark. A little branch hits that tailgate, and it’s going to show a lot more marking. It will be filthy in no time,” he said.
Others preferred black. The commissioners approved a motion to spend up to $50,000 on the truck.
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