CTE Classes at Watauga Learn How to Adapt to Program Budget Cuts

Students in Mrs. Sweeney’s Foods and Nutrition classroom working on their daily assignments.  “Our class size is capped, and we have really high interest in the class, so I don't think that we're going to lose out on students,” said Sweeney. “However, we're definitely making sure that when we're doing labs their portions are correct.” Photo creds: Roz Rabinowitz

Roz Rabinowitz, Junior Editor and News Desk Lead 

Within Watauga's diverse student body, many students think about trades or apprenticeships when considering post-high school plans. Watauga's various CTE programs allow students to explore these options. Though both Watauga and the Innovation Academy recognize the importance of programs such as cosmetology, welding, marketing, and nutrition, the most recent federal and local budget cuts have forced these programs to readjust and adapt. While the budget cuts to these programs have not been ideal, they also prepare students for the future, when their own personal budget will need managing. 

“I was always very grateful for the budget that we had prior to this, but also very surprised,” said Nora Sweeny, a food and nutrition teacher at Watauga High School. “Having worked in the restaurant industry, we are always trying to cut food costs. There's such a razor-thin margin when you run a business, and especially a cooking business. It's just been one of those things that was part of how I was used to running a kitchen when I was in the industry.”

For the Foods and Nutrition classes, not much has changed regarding daily class life, considering the budget cuts their program has experienced. Every Friday, the Foods classes participate in “labs” where they cook a new food item with their kitchen groups. In the past, these labs have yielded large amounts of food, often too much for the small kitchen groups to eat. The budget cuts mean there is a smaller budget to buy food for labs, and the yield for these labs has to be smaller. 

“We have increased budget constraints for some of our three-course meal projects and our proteins project,” said Sweeney. “Both of those were more student-led. We'd had to kind of pull back and recognize that we're spending less money, but we're also making sure that we're getting the most diversity in learning. So it has been about getting bang for our buck as opposed to necessarily just freedom.”

For teachers and staff, knowing where these budget cuts come from helps them shift focus and allocate their time to what is most important. Cindy Lentz, the Curriculum and Instruction Management Coordinator at Watauga High School, described that these budget cuts are the result of a trickle-down effect from our federal government. Dr. Stark, the CTE directory for Watauga County, also supported Lentz’s statement that federal budget cuts and uncertainty are the reason for the cuts to our CTE programs.

 While these cuts have had significant effects on CTE’s overall operating budget, thankfully they have had no impact on staffing for CTE classes, even allowing for more staff. Budget cuts have not only affected our CTE classes, but also our CTE-based clubs such as DECA. This year DECA’s leadership has had to adjust and figure out ways to combat the lack of funding for their competitions and conferences. 

“DECA has had a lot of our funding and resource cuts because of the CTE budget cuts,” said Ellie Hege, Watauga DECA’s Vice President of Career Development. “Our competition and trips have gone up in price because we don’t have that funding to rely on, and it also can’t fund our chaperone’s trip anymore.”

Although DECA’s competitions and prices may have gone up, Watauga DECA already has plans to combat this: raising club dues, raising trip costs, and brainstorming fundraising ideas. The price increase for dues and competitions, while small, can make a big impact on families who may not have the resources for this increase.

“I think it could affect club participation a lot, because [conferences and competitions] are really expensive, and not everyone has that kind of money to spend on a school club, which is really sad, because it's a great opportunity,” said Sammy Morgan, a junior DECA member. 

The opportunities Watauga’s CTE classes and clubs provide for their students are unmatched. These courses prepare students for their future and even allow them to graduate high school ready to jump into the workforce.

“Getting a cosmetology license fresh out of high school means not having to spend years of extra schooling getting our education,” said Zoey Burroughs, a junior cosmetology student working towards her license. “We can go straight into the workforce immediately after high school. This is a great option for people who either do not want to attend college or even cannot afford an education after school.”

Cosmetology is not the only CTE pathway that allows students to graduate with the needed license to jump straight into the workforce. Health Science students can graduate with their CNA, which is essentially a prerequisite to getting into nursing school. While these pathways allow students to leave high school with a license for their desired profession, Watauga provides a vast amount of CTE programs that provide students with helpful skills and opportunities.

“The great thing about our foods, marketing, interior design courses, drafting courses is you are offered what we call credentials: ‘Serve Safe Food Handler and Manager’, and then in hospitality and tourism, we offer a ‘Guest Services Professional,’” said Lentz. “In drafting its AutoCAD and Revit. These are actual credentials-- industry credentials--that you could take to an employer, and say, ‘I already have this certificate and this credential’, and, potentially, get you a higher paying job or make you more qualified.”

CTE programs are essential and allow students who are not on a 4-year university path to get a more affordable education in what they are passionate about. Many of the students who follow a CTE pathway in high school end up becoming extremely successful post-high school in their specialty or pathway. Budget cuts to these programs can be detrimental, considering their importance, but adapting to changes is a life skill Watauga’s CTE students will use throughout their careers.

“One of the units that we go into for foods, one is actually talking about budgeting, and different places to buy food, and how to plan meals on a budget, and the value of doing that,” said Sweeney. “So, that is reinforcing budgeting as a life skill.”