School Board Meeting Adopts CTSO Program

Anita Weston, reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah. December 21, 2016. The Utah State Board of Education has mandated that every high school in the state is required to offer a CTSO (Career Technical Student Program) or the $89,000 add on funding will be withheld. This is generally taken care of by creating student organizations such as FFA (Future Farmers of American) etc. which creates additional work for teachers who are put in charge of these programs.  That means that teachers either need to be paid more or given release time to handle the programs.

Principal Larsen went to the school board with all kinds of facts and figures to show that Rich High School is offering more opportunities to students than any other school in the State.  He told the State Board that Rich High School is the best school in the State.  He then went through what is available to the students here.  He noted that the currently has a 900 hour drafting program, a 900 hour robotics and automation program, a machine shop experience, an agricultural science program, and the current business classes of desk top publishing 1 and 2 and computer science will become a computer science program, there is a welding program, a construction trades opportunity, carpentry, auto diesel experience, several medical programs and a foods and culinary arts experience. 

He noted that 93 percent of the students are involved in these programs as well as athletics and other outside activities.  He said it was putting an extra burden on the teachers in the Rich County School District.

He noted that they didn’t seem to mind hearing about all of these things.  They then explained  that the CTSO that Rich High School should adopt is called Skills USA.  It would fit beautifully because it deals with many of the above programs.  They recommended that any student who isn’t currently in one of the programs be called as the president of the CTSO and that student should then recruit some other students to help.  The students who are outstanding in any of the programs could then be sent to the state and national competitions which means they would be out of school for perhaps a day or two.  The students are responsible for the organization.  It is set up so that the students have an opportunity to develop leadership skills which is the reason for CTSOs in the first place.

A current Utah State School Board Member is also the national board member of Skills USA.  He was at the Board Meeting.  He showed a video of what is expected of schools that belong to Skills USA.  He noted that apparently the students at Rich High School are certainly getting technical skills.  However, he felt that Skills USA would add the opportunity to develop leadership skills.  It is an inter-curricular organization.  It covers all of the programs at school as well as Bridgeland courses.  There are state, regional, and national competitions.  There are dues that will have to be paid.  Generally at the competitions only one student (the best) is sent to represent the school.

The Board was told that if they don’t get something going that the State will recognize as a CTSO program, they will lose the $89,000.  It must be put in place this year in order to not miss out on this year’s funds.  The motion was made and passed by the Board that Skills USA would be adopted and organized within the next few weeks.