HARRISBURG PA – Ten local school districts in the TriCounty Region – five each in Montgomery and Berks counties – on Tuesday (June 2, 2026) were poised to benefit from a combined total of $425,000 in competitive grants.
The money is designated for five separate approved career and technical education programs that serve the districts’ students. It will be used to update or buy new equipment for career-related education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education reports.
Montgomery County Winners
Winning $85,000 each, in Montgomery County, were the:
- Western Montgomery Career and Technical Center (CTC) in Limerick, serving students from the Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford Area, and Upper Perkiomen school districts;
- North Montco Tech Career Center in Lansdale, for those attending from five districts including Perkiomen Valley and Methacton; and
- Eastern Center for Arts & Technology in Willow Grove, for students in nine other districts.
Berks County Winners
Also winning $85,000 each, in Berks County, were the:
- Berks CTC in Oley and Leesport, serving students across 18 districts including Boyertown Area, Daniel Boone Area, Oley Valley, and Wyomissing; and
- Reading Muhlenberg CTC, for students in the Reading and Muhlenberg districts.
No Chester County winners were reported.
Two State Requirements
The state requires that equipment must align with employers’ needs. It also says the schools’ curriculums must provide students with hands-on use of the equipment.
Investments like the grants announced “ensure all students have an opportunity to explore their interests, and chart their own course to success after high school,” state Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe says. As a result, the schools keep innovating to offer career programs which “prepare students for jobs that will actually be there when they graduate,” she adds.
Since 2023, Pennsylvania has increased career and technical education funding by $65 million, or nearly 50 percent. The money helps “expand access for students, not only in career and technical centers but also through programs in their high schools,” according to the department.
Photo by Travels With The Post
Our local news reporting includes articles about public, private, home-school, non-profit, and organizational education institutions and issues within, or that affect residents of, Montgomery, Berks, and Chester PA counties. Find more education articles here.
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