Title
Chief Administrative Office recommending the Board approve and authorize the Chair to sign a letter to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in support of the Black Oak Mine Unified School District's Workforce Development grant application.
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The Black Oak Mine Unified School District (BOMUSD) is looking to expand its Career Technical Education program to include construction/industrial arts education and an operational sawmill, providing high school students with experience and understanding in forestry, vegetation management, and forest product processing. This will afford the district an opportunity to offer a student-centric program that integrates current research-based practices adaptive to a changing job market and localized instruction to prepare graduates for post-secondary education and high-demand, highly skilled careers in wood and forestry products. BOMUSD students will learn adaptive strategies for local economic resilience in the face of climate change: wildfire reduction strategies, alternatives to fossil fuels, and forest residual recycling.
While this project opens workforce development in forestry, vegetation management, and forest product processing, as an additional benefit, it is also a springboard for the creation of a career technical training pipeline from secondary to post-secondary education focused on renewable energy. Working with the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and Folsom Community College's Innovation Center, BOMUSD is actively developing this pathway for students who may be interested in pursuing a career in the varying aspects of this field. In the foreseeable future, it is envisioned that a biomass-to-energy unit installed at Golden Sierra High School will provide hands-on experience in renewable energy just as the sawmill proposed here does for forestry and forest product processing.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose not to support the grant application.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
N/A
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
N/A
FINANCIAL IMPACT
N/A
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Obtain the Chair's signature on the letter of support and return one copy to the Chief Administrative Office.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Economic Development
CONTACT
Sue Hennike, Deputy CAO