PORT ANGELES — Every year, students in the Port Angeles School District’s Career and Technical Education program graduate with a range of job skills they have gained and career goals they have developed by identifying their interests and exploring different fields.

Port Angeles’ program is one of the strongest in the state, CTE Director Shannah Coleman told the board at its Feb. 27 meeting, and it continues to expand opportunities for students by preparing them for vocational, employment and academic careers.

February is national CTE month.

“It is second to none,” Coleman said. “You just don’t see a district with as many opportunities for kids as we have.”

Its CTE program offers more than 40 classes, from accounting to cabinet making to marine biology to welding at Port Angeles High School and Lincoln High School.

Eighth-graders at Stevens Middle School — and recently Queen of Angels — also can take CTE classes that acquaint them with what to expect at the high school level.

“Enrollment in CTE is growing,” Coleman said. “It used to be thought of as a school within a school, but now it’s part of the entire high school experience.”

Students also can earn dual high school and college credits in certain CTE courses through relationships with Peninsula College and Olympic College in Bremerton.

CTE coordinator Jennifer Rodgers said local businesses have been supportive of the district’s Core Plus aerospace and maritime programs that focus on hands-on learning to prepare students for jobs in manufacturing and skilled trades.

“They have really stepped up and have been a major component of what we’re doing, so there’s community buy-in to what we’re doing,” Rodgers said. “They want to see our kids be able to do new things.”

Karen Casey, director of business and operations, said the district made it through February without having to act on the interfund loan it approved in December as a precaution should it be unable to meet expenses.

“We would not be able to do that without the commitment of all of our staff doing what we have to do even though it hurts,” she said.

Enrollment

The district’s full-time enrollment fell to 3,281 in February — the lowest count since September. The number of special education students, on the other hand, continued to grow, from 621 in September to 648 in February.

The board based the district’s 2024-2025 budget on an anticipated full-time enrollment of 3,305; the number of students the district serves is a primary factor in the funding it receives from the state.

Trust lands

Superintendent Marty Brewer reported that the Clallam County Revenue Advisory Committee met with David Upthegrove, the newly elected state Commissioner of Public Lands, on Feb. 24 to discuss the Department of National Resources’ management of state trust lands and timber sales that funds schools, fire districts, hospitals and other junior taxing districts.

On Jan. 17, Upthegrove paused harvesting timber in some mature state forests.

The proposed sales of the DNR’s Parched and Tree Well parcels in Clallam County currently are on hold pending litigation.

“He assured the group — and I hope he was telling the truth — that it is his desire not to remove acreage from harvestable timber,” Brewer said. “His goal is to continue to harvest timber across the state.”

Groundbreaking

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Stevens Middle School is scheduled for April 12. The school district will announce the time of the event and other details later.

Meanwhile, Franklin Elementary sixth-graders Nola Prchal and Jane Curran were honored as February students of the month.

The board recognized educators at Stevens Middle School who, on Jan. 14, responded to a student experiencing a medical crisis. They were instructor Donald Bland, secretary LeAnn Mandeville, principal Melissa McBride, paraeducator Michael Miller, instructor Darren Mills, nurse Sarah Pierce and instructor Christine Spaulding.

The Port Angeles Education Foundation’s annual fundraiser will be from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 14 at Field Arts & Events Hall, 201 W. Front St. The PAEF supports students, staff and schools in the district through grants, scholarships and other assistance. More information can be found at tinyurl.com/p692w655.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.