Governor, Lt. Governor Break Ground on New Career Technical Center at Bryan Middle/High School.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jim Tressel took part in a groundbreaking ceremony Monday to celebrate the beginning of construction on an all-new career technical center at Bryan Middle/High School in Williams County.

Supported by a $2.5 million Career Technical Education Equipment Grant from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW), the center marks the latest success story in the administration’s work to expand access to career technical education so more Ohio students can develop the skills they need to land a great job after graduation.

The new facility will allow Bryan City Schools (BCS) to increase their emphasis on the vocational arts. The career technical center, which will be directly connected to the Middle/High School, will offer classes that teach the foundational skills of design and production with woods and metals. It will also offer courses in engineering, precision machining, computer aided design (CAD), electrical, plumbing, and robotics.

The new facility comes as the demand for career technical education in Ohio continues to increase. Over the past four years, the state has seen a 10% growth in the number of students participating in career tech – that’s over 13,000 more students than in 2021.

BCS is collaborating with its nearby Joint Vocational School District – Four County Career Center – to designate the new facility as a “satellite” location for the Career Center. This will allow Four County Career Center staff to help teach courses at the Bryan facility, oversee career pathways and credentialing, and supplement learning equipment and resources for students. Historically, due to limited space, Four County Career Center has had to turn away as many as 150 students per year. The new center at Bryan Middle/High School is expected to help provide more opportunities for students across the region who are interested in career technical education.

Construction is scheduled to be completed by June 2026. The career technical center will open to students beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.

To address gym space needs and indoor athletic training opportunities for student-athletes, BCS is also including the addition of an auxiliary gym and weight room, separately funded with BCS monies, as part of the construction project that will be underway for the career technical center.

The auxiliary gym will host middle school athletic events, as well as training and practices at both the middle school and high school levels. It will also host competitions for the many youth programs in the community that feed into Bryan Middle/High School athletics.