MERIDIAN, Idaho — The West Ada School District is expanding its career technical education programs with the purchase of a 70,000-square-foot warehouse that will become the district's largest CTE center once complete.
The district purchased the building for $12.8 million, using House Bill 521 funds and a grant from the State Department of Education to cover part of the retrofitting costs.
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"We have a lot of students that are interested in our courses, which is a great problem to have," said Will Schumaker, who oversees Career Technical Education in the West Ada School District.
Schumaker said demand for programs like welding, firefighting, and construction has increased dramatically.
"We just simply don't have the room and the capacity, and so we run into an issue where students aren't able to access some of the pathways that they would like to get into," Schumaker said.
The new CTE center is located off of S Locust Grove Road in Meridian.
The warehouse, currently used for lumber, will be converted into a two-floor facility with specialized lab and classroom spaces designed for programs including firefighting, law enforcement, EMT, welding, power sports, and residential construction.
"The idea is that we're going to be able to use the warehouse, convert it to space for students in our career technical education programs," Schumaker explained.
The goal is to prepare students for in-demand careers immediately after high school graduation.
"I think the feedback is: 'I never thought I'd be able to walk straight out of high school into a career that I can see myself in for a long time.' And what they saw in West Ada career technical education facilities mirrors what they're going to see as closely as possible in that industry," Schumaker said.
If everything proceeds according to plan, the facility could welcome students as early as fall 2026.
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