The Franklin County school district is seeking money to help bring vocational training and additional science and technology education to local students

The Franklin County school district is seeking money to help bring vocational training and additional science and technology education to local students.

School superintendent Traci Moses said the district is seeking about 3.2 million dollars for two initiatives.

The first would provide additional Science, technology, engineering and math education for K through 8^th graders and would include renovating a classroom at the Franklin County School and funding a location for the Apalachicola Bay charter School for STEM programs.

The school say the work would cost about 720 thousand dollars.

The second initiative would be a partnership with Lively Technical Center to greatly expand vocational training in the county's high school.

It would involve the construction of a new vocational training building which could then offer welding classes first and then other courses including HVAC, plumbing and electrical.

Moses said she hopes it would train students to work in the construction industry and maybe even build affordable housing to help entice new teachers to the area.

That program would cost about 2 and a half million dollars for the construction of the new vocational center.

If the funding is approved it will come through Triumph Gulf Coast which was established by the Florida Legislature to distribute funding to eight Gulf coast counties disproportionately affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

That group will distribute nearly one and half billion dollars over the next 12 years to northwest Florida counties.

Franklin county commissioners provided a letter of support for the projects to help with the application process.

Moses said the applications are due at Triumph Gulf Coast by August the 1^st. 

http://live.oysterradio.com/