Mission

Helping students choose their path to a successful career.

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 Vision

The Adams County Technical Institute will continuously improve and expand career and technical education opportunities to meet the needs of the local workforce and the career goals of our students.

Community Information Session for ACTI Expansion

ACTI is Adams County’s “area career and technical school/center (CTC)”

• serving 5 school districts since July 1, 2020 – formerly Adams County Tech Prep
• juniors and seniors – 825 hours of instruction – 260 students

8 approved programs:

• Allied Health
• Building Trades
• Computer Networking
• Criminal Justice
• Culinary Arts
• Diesel Technology
• Early Learning
• Career Connections

ACTI governing structure

The Benefits of

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

CTE students are more satisfied with their high school experience than non-CTE students:

CTE students are more satisfied with their high school experience than non-CTE students:

4+ Degree

4 year Degree

2 year Degree

Technical Training

Industry Certification

1 : 2 : 7

• fills a critical gap for high school students
• creates pathways to college and career success
• leads to fewer dropouts
• provides pathways to advancement
• delivers marketable degrees

CTE is Learning that Works for Students

• helps fill the skills gap
• prepares students for leading industries
• programs directly connect learners in high school with employers
• gets a lot of bang for its buck

CTE is Learning that Works for Industry

CTE works for employers by strengthening their ability to recruit and hire skilled talent.

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

In Pennsylvania

• Approved program regulations – PDE/BCTE
• Chapter 339 – Approved Program Evaluation – every 5 years
• Integrated with local business and industry
• Minimum hour requirement
• Civil rights review and audit
• End of course assessment (NOCTI) – like a Keystone test for each program
• Industry-Recognized Credentials
• Postsecondary connections
• Programs of Study – statewide, forms the basis of our curriculum
• Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) – SkillsUSA
• Financial benefit
• CTE Student Subsidy
• Perkins V grant and audit
• Equipment grants

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

in Adams County

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(a bit of a “situation”)

More than 80 area CTCs – most built over 50 years ago

Where is ACTI?

HS Students in Participating Districts

Programs Available in the Tech School

% of HS Students enrolled in the Tech School

Sorted by Participating Districts Combined Budgeted Expenditures

Sorted by % of Budgeted Expenditures Spent at the Tech School

Franklin County

Career and Technology Center

Cumberland-Perry Area

Career and Technical Center

York County

School of Technology

Adams County

Technical Institute

What about regionally?

3 years

23 programs

1014 students

3+ years

22 programs

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1265 students

4 years

23 programs

1658 students

2 years

7 programs

275 students

How are the programs we DO have?

• In 24-25:
• 88% of students scored Advanced or Proficient on NOCTI
• SkillsUSA 35 district competitors; 23 state competitors; 3 national competitors
• 298 state-reportable, Industry-Recognized Credentials
• 59/260 students earned college credits
• 95% of students completed the task list
• 25-26: 194 applications for 147 seats – we turned away almost 24% of the students who applied.
• Approx. 260 students enrolled this year – average of 37 students per program
• Added an Allied Health Lab Assistant

Discipline: 1 Out-of-School Suspension; 3 Written Warnings

Great job!! to the class of 2025, but…

Great job!! to the class of 2025, but…

We can do better!!

We are continuously improving but cannot expand in our current space.

Operationally, the Adams County Technical Institute must:

• be aligned with the Articles of Agreement and cost-efficient to operate.
• assure equitable opportunities for all participating school districts.
• maintain a consistent flow of capital to sustain the programs, facilities, grounds, and operations.
• reflect current county and regional workforce needs and the career interests of students.
• be designed to allow for future expansion.
• allow for the flexibility to change program offerings commensurate with workforce needs and student career interests.
• reflect the values of participating school districts and the ongoing investment made by taxpayers, business and industry, community organizations, and donors.

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ACTI Guiding Principles

Educationally, the Adams County Technical Institute must:

• design secondary educational programs to obtain PA Department of Education “approved program” status to access state and federal funding that reduces operating costs.
• design curriculum for the acquisition of workforce skills to obtain industry-recognized and professional certifications.
• articulate educational programs with those offered in post-secondary institutions through direct partnerships, articulation agreements, college in the high school, and early-to-college programs.
• offer programs that meet the regional workforce needs and career interests of secondary students.
• design facilities to accommodate training, retraining, and upskilling adult learners to meet regional workforce needs.
• focus on programs that are cost-prohibitive for a single district to operate or may not be able to be filled by a single district.

ACTI Guiding Principles

Civically, the Adams County Career and Technical Institute must:

• form partnerships with county community organizations such as chambers of commerce, economic development corporations, and other organizations with an interest in supporting our local businesses and economy.
• form partnerships with local businesses to ensure our safety instruction, facility, equipment and supplies, and curriculum meet regional workforce needs.
• ensure that space is provided, as available, for civic, religious, athletic, artistic, leisure, and other activities to support our municipalities, families, children, and individuals in our community.
• convey pride in our County and our citizens, their futures, our community, and what makes Adams County unique.

ACTI Guiding Principles

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Educational Area Program:

Eight Current Programs Seven New Programs

Allied Health Allied Health

Building Trades HVAC

Computer Networking Advanced Manufacturing

Criminal Justice Ag Mechanics

Culinary Arts Automotive Technology

Diesel Technology Welding

Early Learning Auto Collision Repair

Career Connections

General Classrooms

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Program Allocation of Spaces:

1. Labs – ACTI, CPACTC and FCCTC
2. Classroom – each @ 850 SF
3. Storage – recommended %
4. Locker Room + Restroom – varies by program

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Building Capacity = 316 Students x 2

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Educational Space Total = 78,950 SF

Current space = 20,000 SF

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Support Area Program:

Educational Support

1. Faculty
2. Administration
3. Nurse
4. Guidance

Building Support

1. Maintenance
2. Custodial

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Educational Support & Building Support Total = 9,820 SF

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Net Building SF = 88,770 SF

Grossing Factor @ 60% = 53,262 SF

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Gross Building SF = 142,032 SF

Current space = 20,000 SF

OPTION SUMMARY

OPTION 1: New Facility.

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OPTION 2: New Facility with phased construction over 10-12 year timeframe.

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OPTION 3: New Facility for dirty labs and maintain existing ACTI for clean labs.

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OPTIONS NOT DEVELOPED

OPTION 1: Renovate an existing facility.

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OPTION 1 COST ESTIMATE�New Construction

NOTE: This preliminary cost estimate does not represent estimates for a design solution. The following estimate should only be used as a starting point to begin establishing a minimum project budget. A project budget cannot be finalized until a site has been selected, its existing conditions are analyzed and a floor plan conceptualized.

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Clarifications:

• Current Cost Estimate does not include cost for:
• Site Acquisition
• Site Construction
• Utility Connections / Tap In Fees
• Municipal / County Agency Requirements due to existing site conditions
• Project Soft Costs needed for Site Construction and Acquisition
• Cost Estimate is based on square footage of Educational Program ONLY not a design option
• Costs could increase due to existing site restraints which could increase overall building square footage
• 2023 Cost Estimate: $48.5M - $56.3M

OPTION 1 COST ESTIMATE�New Construction

August 28, 2025 - Business Manager Meeting

• Superintendents and Business Managers met to discuss the affordability of the project ($75M was the “all-in” number considered).
• Each district’s short- and long-range capital improvement plan was considered.
• Based upon that context, Superintendents and Business Managers determined the affordability range to be between $35M-$55M.
• A significant delta was identified ($40M).
• A general discussion was held about options for a smaller project or how to make up the difference through grants and state and/or federal funding requests.

PFM Financial Advisors – Financing the Project

PFM Financial Advisors – District Percentages

Future Budget Estimates – Debt Service and Operating

Comparison to Similar-sized Schools

Potential Building Sites

• Evaluated approximately 11 potential building sites.
• Each site has potential challenges
• Water/sewer
• Vegetation
• Location
• Electric availability
• Natural gas
• Cost ($700,000-$4,000,000)
• Wetlands
• Access to roads
• Topography

Why should we do this now?

• Our students deserve it
• Why should an Adams County student have fewer opportunities?
• Families need it
• Adams County’s economy needs it
• Other CTCs are expanding
• Grant money is available
• Construction costs won’t go down
• ACTI misses out on grant money because we don’t have our own building
• 1:2:7
• Required

How are we going to pay for it?

• Plan
• ACTI Authority
• Federal, state, local grants
• Business and industry help
• ACTI Sponsorships
• Adult education – operate at a profit
• Students from other districts – tuition revenue
• PACTA
• As a TEAM – district % based on school code
• As a bigger TEAM……

Supporting Partners – Teamwork!

Next Steps

• Presentations to participating district School Boards
• Locate and purchase land using $500,000 grant

Questions from the community

How can you help?

Mission

Helping students choose their path to a successful career.

​

 Vision

The Adams County Technical Institute will continuously improve and expand career and technical education opportunities to meet the needs of the local workforce and the career goals of our students.