Dedication ceremony to be held Oct. 27 at Wayne County Career Center

The Wayne County Schools Career Center will have a Dedication Ceremony celebrating the completion of its three-year, $30.75 million building renovation project on Thursday, Oct. 27. Tours will begin in the commons at 4 p.m., and light refreshments will be served. The formal dedication ceremony with a ribbon cutting will begin at 5:30 p.m.

The public is invited to attend. Former board members, teachers and alumni are especially encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be prepared and served by hospitality students, under the direction of instructor Kathy Hanna, and tours will be led by staff members. High school ambassadors will assist those taking self-guided tours throughout the building.

The dedication ceremony coincides with the annual advisory committee meetings. All advisory committee members are invited to the large group session in the administration building board room at 6:30 p.m. Individual program and department sessions will begin throughout the building at 7 p.m.

The career center was originally built as the Wayne County Joint Vocational School, opening in 1969 with 22 career programs and three academic classes. There were 35 staff members at the career center’s opening with high school juniors, and 50 when both the juniors and seniors attended the following year. The cost for the original 155,000-square-foot building was $3,262,720. Through the years, more additions have been made to the original building.

In 2006, a 15,249-square-foot technology center was built to the south of the building, to house four career-tech programs. The following year, Wayne County voters passed a 0.75 mill permanent improvement levy to raise enough money to renovate the entire building in partnership with an Ohio School Facilities Commission grant.

Ground was broken in May 2009, and a new 7,600-square-foot adult education building was added to the west side of the original building. The total cost for the entire renovation, including the new technology center and the adult education buildings, was estimated at $30,750,000, with $18.75 million (61 percent) paid by the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

The school now offers 28 career-technical programs, and 19 academic courses, including college English and college government, and has about 150 full-time staff members. High school juniors and seniors attend from all 10 Wayne County public high schools, two private schools, as well as homeschooled students. About 2,500 area adults take advantage of adult and community education courses every year.

The career center is located at 518 West Prospect St. in Smithville. For more information or directions, go to http://www.wcscc.org or call 330-669-7000.