At their meeting in May, the River Valley School District announced its intent to withdraw from the Indiana County Technology Center.
ICTC Director Mike McDermott said that for the district to withdraw, each district that is a part of the consortium would need a one-year notice, which was provided by the 7-2 vote the school board made during May’s meeting. ICTC would also have to make sure that financial obligations are met, which he said will be cleared in October. But the third provision is that all the other participating districts would have to vote to allow River Valley to leave, as McDermott said there are many financial implications to their departure.
River Valley currently sends only 20 students to ICTC for classes, and McDermott said that the funding formula is based on the enrollment in grades 10-12 and how many students attend ICTC.
If River Valley withdraws, students would still have the option to take classes at ICTC that the district does not offer, but McDermott said there would be a disadvantage concerning enrollment.
He added that they feel that this is not a competition between the Steam Academy and the ICTC, but rather giving students the opportunity to learn in specialized fields, no matter where they go.
With River Valley School District announcing its intention to withdraw from the Indiana County Technology Center, many wonder what the impact will be on students that want to go to ICTC for classes.
Students in River Valley have the option of continuing to take classes at ICTC if they wish, but ICTC officials have said that they will be seated if there are more than enough seats for students in participating school districts. Superintendent Philip Martell said if a student wants to attend to take something they offer, the district will not stand in their way.
He says that while financial issues were at the heart of the decision, River Valley’s Steam Academy is not in competition with ICTC, and he also echoed ICTC’s Mike McDermott’s comments that there are no hard feelings between the two entities.
At last month’s board meeting, the board voted 7-2 to announce the district’s intent to leave ICTC, which gives the technical school and its member districts a year’s notice as prescribed by the rules in place. ICTC must also make sure its outstanding financial obligations are met. The member districts must also approve River Valley’s exit, as their departure will also have a financial impact on them.
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