Woodworking, building trades programs face uncertain future

With high school industrial technology programs facing an uncertain future in Portland, a group of concerned community members met Wednesday night to discuss the issue.

"We are constantly hearing how this thing or that thing is threatening the funding for this program," said Jim Ferner, the wood products manufacturing teacher at Franklin High School in Southeast Portland.

Ferner was among about a dozen community members and business representatives that met in Franklin High School's 20-year-old 6,000- square-foot shop facility.

"No one is winning right now, everybody is losing," said Jack Levy, an attorney with Smith Freed & Eberhard PC who attended the meeting. "I don't think there is going to be enough cash to run the programs anymore."

The group, the Franklin High School Woodworking and Building Trades Advisory Council, meets on a monthly basis to discus the future of the program at Franklin High School, which along with Benson High School, is among a handful of high schools in the Portland metropolitan area to maintain the program.

"I don't have any confidence that the school will save the program," Levy said in a post-conference interview.

"I'd like to see the people of Portland rally behind this," Levy continued. "Everyone should do what they can to help the schools right now."

Fundraising by the advisory group might be the only way to keep the program going, Levy said.

"Things are very tight, everyone is after the same money to keep their programs going, but that's public education right now," said Jeff Busch, principal and vice president of consulting with Pinnell Busch Inc., in an interview before the meeting. "We're trying to remain hopeful that the program is going to stay."

The advisory group is trying to provide enough support to keep the program going, Busch explained, otherwise it is going to disappear.

Busch along with the rest of the members of the advisory group are concerned that if the program does disappear there won't be any program left in Portland to train the upcoming woodworking and construction trades workforce.

"The construction industry needs some of these programs in schools to get the interest of kids," Busch said. "We're trying to keep the program alive, otherwise the construction industry loses out."

The construction industry is in need of workers, Busch said, unless there is some kind of curriculum in schools, kids won't become aware of it. There is a lot of potential for kids in the construction trades, he added.

"My concern is that vocational training is being dropped from the curriculum," said Cindy Regier, director of education and training with the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. Pacific Northwest chapter. "There is a great need for training the future workforce of the trades."

The advisory group might have to examine collaborative models used by other communities, such as Washington's Clark County's vocational training program, in order to keep these programs going, Regier explained.

There needs to be an opportunity for kids in Portland to explore careers in construction, Regier said.

The principal of Franklin High School, Opal Chancler-Moore, could not be reached for comment.

Copyright 2003 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.