Small Business Funding

A new Career and Technology Education Center is one step closer to becoming a reality for students in Laurens County school districts 55 and 56.Laurens County is currently the only Upstate county without a career and technology center, according to Laurens County School District 56 officials. LCSD 56 officials say they have wanted to build a Career and Technology Education Center for several years, but plans are now beginning to take shape. First, you have to have a plan, then you have to show that plan to those who have the resources to make it happen,” said Lynn Lawson, finance officer for LCSD 56.The new CATE Center is a collaborative effort between Laurens County school districts 55 and 56.LCSD 56 officials say a location has now been chosen for the new center near the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce. Lawson says the location is convenient and accessible for students from both districts. In addition to a location being determined, initial renderings for the new center have also been completed.LCSD Superintendent Dr. David O’Shields says the new center will “minimize duplication and open and create new opportunities” for students in Laurens County by combining programs offered at both districts and creating entirely new programs, like culinary arts and cosmetology. We can supplement and assist them with career opportunities that make them immediately employable,” said O’Shields. Lawson and O’Shields say the CATE Center is not only an investment in the students, but in the county as well. These are the very jobs that prop up America, and these are the very jobs that make for a strong middle class,” said O’Shields. Lawson estimates the new CATE Center will cost about $50 million. He says a portion of that is expected to come from state funding. Its not something you would normally get in the state budget,” said Lawson. “But they see the value in this not only for 8,000 students or so in Laurens County but for economic development in the Upstate.Lawson says funding will also come from districts 55 and 56 and from the county. Right now, there are no plans to increase tax or millage rates for the construction of the facility. He says funding the project will be a process and that it could be two years before construction on the center begins.”The idea that it’s going to take a couple of years to physically make it happen gives us time to financially make it happen,” said Lawson. O’Shields says the opportunities the new CATE Center will provide are ones that the students in Laurens County have long deserved. I think what were looking at is creating the opportunity,” said O’Shields. “That our children are just as deserving and just as worthy of the programs that other places have.”