School district receives state tech ed grant

The School District of Rhinelander is celebrating a substantial boost to its ongoing effort to modernize technical education facilities and equipment at James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School.

On July 2, the district announced that it has been awarded $46,050 through the Department of Workforce Development’s Fast Forward program.

“The grant will help support our current project to upgrade the facilities and equipment for our Technical Education classrooms at the high school and middle school,” district officials announced in a press release. “Thank you to Dr. Lee Swank for his generous donation that made this matching grant possible and to all of our business partners that supported our grant application.”

Earlier this year, the district announced that Swank, who was also a major donor to the Hodag Dome project, had pledged $500,000 for the purchase of new tech ed equipment. 

The grant was announced in a joint press release issued by the Department of Workforce Development and Gov. Tony Evers.

 “Advanced manufacturing is an important part of our economy in Wisconsin, and ensuring our kids have access to high-demand, high-skill job training opportunities is critical if we want to prepare our future workforce for the 21st Century,” Evers said. “By investing in technical education in school districts across the state, we are connecting the dots and expanding career opportunities for thousands of students while positioning our manufacturers for success.”

“The current round of Wisconsin Fast Forward grants from DWD totals $408,123 for school districts across the state to train students for career paths involving robotics, welding, plasma cutting, 3D printing, drones, and more,” Evers office explained. “These grants reimburse school districts for the costs of purchasing and installing technical education equipment used for vocational training and technical education in advanced manufacturing fields. This includes the purchase of new equipment such as computer numerical control machines, robotic welders, fiber laser cutting machines, 3D printers, and more.”

“Fast Forward grants connect school districts across Wisconsin with some of the great advanced manufacturing companies we have in our state, such as Baileigh Industrial and Snap-On, to prepare our future workforce for careers in high-demand, high-skill industries,” said DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek. “The state-of-the-art equipment, including robotic welders, laser cutters, 3D printers, and other high-tech tools, will enable schools to provide coursework that aligns with industry standards and requirements.”

High school students will train in advanced manufacturing fields to prepare for stable careers while they obtain dual enrollment credits, industry-endorsed certificates, and technical endorsements on high school diplomas, the release states.

Advanced manufacturing refers to a family of manufacturing activities that depend on the use and coordination of information, automation, computation software, sensing, and networking, and/or use of cutting-edge materials and emerging production capabilities enabled by the physical and biological sciences, including nanotechnology, chemistry, and biology. This involves both new ways of manufacturing existing products and manufacturing new products emerging from advanced technologies.

Specifically, the School District of Rhinelander will use the grant funds to purchase a Fusion Pro 36 CO2 laser engraver 80W. This equipment will expand rapid prototyping and students’ exploration of digital manufacturing, addressing critical equipment needs and preparing students for future careers in manufacturing, according to the release.

In April, district voters authorized a multi-million dollar construction referendum that will result in renovations and additions to technical education facilities at the high school and middle school. 

Construction is expected to begin next April with completion scheduled for August of 2026.