Woodlawn Accepts Partnership Funds For Career Ed Center

RISON - The Woodlawn School District is formally accepting $1,290,334.40 in state partnership money to help build a new career education center at the Woodlawn High School campus after it recently learned the money is now available.Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock said the Woodlawn School Board agreed to accept the partnership money during its regular monthly meeting Monday night.Woodlawn was approved for the partnership program for two projects earlier this year: $395,326.28 for expanding the cafeteria expansion and the nearly $1.3 million for the career education center. However, only the cafeteria project was funded. The career education center was put on a waiting list to see if the money would become available.To accept partnership money, the receiving school district must have the funding in place to pay for the matching funds required to carry out the project. In those cases where the money was awarded but the district did not have the funds to accept it, the partnership money is returned to the state and offered to the next project on the list. Woodlawn learned on Dec. 1 that the nearly $1.3 million for the career center is now being funded.In May, voters in the Woodlawn School District approved a 2-mill tax increase to generate  $3.85 million in construction money to provide the matching funds to expand the school cafeteria and build the new career education center. Hancock said he  was waiting for the partnership funding for the career center before to come through before moving forward on the project.The district has already been awarded $395,326.28 in partnership money for the cafeteria expansion, and the school board expects to see a more accurate bid on that project in the January meeting. Hancock said whatever figure is presented in January meeting for the cafeteria project will have on impact on the career education center as well since it will give the board a better idea of what actual con...