WBCSD celebrating new CTE facility Thursday

PRIEST RIVER — The community is invited to take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Thursday celebrating the West Bonner County School District's new career technical education center.

Three years in the making after receiving a $725,240 Idaho Career Ready Students Council grant, WBCSD officials are hosting the event at the new facility, which is located at Priest River Lamanna High School.

The open house, scheduled from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, gives students and their families, as well as community members and West Bonner County School District partners, a chance to tour the new facility and see program spaces.

"We are super excited for the chance to expand the CTE programs at PRLHS to include a robust natural resources pathway for our students," forestry teacher Jared Hughes said when the grant was awarded in fall 2023.

Hughes, who has taught for 25 years in the district, previously said that the dream had always been to expand the high school's forestry program. The new facility transitions the district's forestry program, which teaches students the fundamentals of forestry on 20 forested acres of school property, into a full CTE program, giving students a chance to learn about forestry careers while at Priest River Lamanna High School.

WBCSD Superintendent Kim Spacek said the CTE facility is a "flagship for the district’s Career Technical Education initiatives, designed to provide hands-on training in the region’s vital timber industry."

The community is invited to attend the open house.