ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – A new career and technical education center for Roanoke County Public Schools is promising to be more than just a school, leaders said it will provide a major boost to the region’s economy.
Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $75.9 million project Monday afternoon. It will be located a site off Peters Creek Road not far from the airport.
“That will be a game-changer for the students and families of Roanoke County but also for business and economic development for the entire region,” said Dr. Ken Nicely, superintendent of Roanoke County Public Schools.
The new CTE center will house all the career and technical programs currently at the Burton Center for Arts and Technology in Salem and with some new ones as well like dentistry, HVAC services and collision repair.
Officials said the arts programs at the Burton Center will move to other schools. Leaders are still determining what to do with the building itself after the new center opens.
In the crowd checking out renderings for the new center was Keith Schult, a junior at William Byrd High School who also attends engineering classes at the Burton Center, was among those taking a look at renderings of the new center.
“I know when I went to Burton for the first time my freshman year, I was taken aback at all the machinery that was in that room, in the engineering room,” he said. “And when they come here, they’re going to come here and see this brand new school, all this modern design and they’re just going to be taken aback, in awe.”
Virginia Superintendent for Public Instruction Lisa Coons told 10 News the new CTE center will fit neatly into the state’s new school performance and support framework for students like Byrd and others.
“One of those components is making sure students who want to be employed after high school have opportunities for high wage, high demand experiences inside their own high school,” she said.
County leaders anticipate those high wages could just be part of the economic impact of the center, expected to be in the millions.
“This is not the cure-all but it’s a piece of the puzzle in keeping our young people home,” said Mike Altizer, who chaired a citizens’ advisory committee for the new center. “What better way than if you can put them in a decent wage paying job and stay here.”
The center is expected to open to students by Winter 2027. In the meantime, Altizer said outreach should begin to business about the potential workforce development benefits of the center and to have potential apprenticeships ready for students.
The project was part of a capital improvement plan given final approval by both the Roanoke County School Board and the County Board of Supervisors in July. It includes major renovations at W.E. Cundiff Elementary School in Vinton and Glen Cove Elementary School.