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Local school gets $1 million dollar grant to put towards new regional innovation center

It's a part of a $4 million dollar total grant Gov. Kim Reynolds allocated to four Iowa schools to set students up for success.

ELDRIDGE, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. along with the Iowa Dept. of Education, rolled out $4 million worth of grants to four schools across Iowa, including one Quad Cities school.

The awards consisted of career academy grants to prepare students for high-demand fields. 

North Scott High School in Eldridge was awarded $1 million. The school plans on using the money towards its planned regional innovation center. 

"Now we focused on four to make sure that we hit the requirements for the grant," North Scott Principal Shane Knoche said. "However, we know it's going to be a regional partnership."

The goal of the new facility is to create a pathway for students. It will also allow the school to expand some programs, like diesel mechanics, electrical engineering, plumbing ad more.

"I'm looking forward to going into a career in veterinary medicine," North Scott High School Freshman, Jordan Jones said.

The facility will be open to all local schools. North Scott student Jay Lihlightle is interested in construction and said this is an exciting project for the school.

"I'm a sophomore, not really knowing what I want to do yet with my life," Lihlightle said. "I think that having this new facility will definitely open up a lot of pathways to students like me."

The school says it's hoping the regional innovation center will be open by the fall of 2024. Other schools that also received the $1 million grants are Iowa Central, Northwest Iowa, and Southwestern Community Colleges.

The Career Academy Incentive Fund was established by a 2019 law that extends a statewide penny sales tax for school infrastructure, called Secure an Advanced Vision for Education. $1 million dollars will be awarded annually to support career academy partnerships schools and organizations.

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