Chester County students have access to more career and technical education slots after $65 million in new state funding since 2023 expanded programs that lawmakers say have opened doors for roughly 3,000 additional students statewide.
Members of the Pennsylvania House Majority Policy Committee visited the Technical College High School's Brandywine Campus in Downingtown on Tuesday, Aug. 4, touring classrooms and holding a roundtable with Chester County Intermediate Unit administrators about how the money is reaching local students.
State Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, D-Chester, whose district includes the West Chester area, hosted the event. The visit followed Gov. Josh Shapiro's signing of the 2026-27 state budget, which added another $10 million for career and technical education programs on top of the $55 million already invested since 2023.
"By increasing funding for career and technical education, we're increasing opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in fields that are essential to Pennsylvania's continued growth and success," Friel Otten said at the roundtable, according to MyChesCo.
What it means locally
Technical College High School, operated by CCIU, runs three campuses: Brandywine in Downingtown, Pennock's Bridge and Pickering. Together they offer 52 CTE programs and draw students from dozens of school districts across Chester County. Enrollment across the three campuses has grown to approximately 3,000 students, CCIU officials told the committee.
The Brandywine Campus alone offers 21 programs and enrolls students from 23 different districts.
CCIU Executive Director Dr. George Fiore joined the roundtable alongside Assistant Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Murray, Director of Career, Technical & Customized Education Dr. Steve Leever, Pennock's Bridge Campus Principal Ron Wilson and Pickering Campus Principal Chris Knechel. Students and alumni led lawmakers on a tour of the Downingtown facility before the policy discussion began.
Statewide picture
The $65 million increase since 2023 represents a nearly 50% jump in state career-tech funding. Pennsylvania's total annual investment in workforce development, including CTE, vocational-technical programs, registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, has grown from $118 million before Shapiro took office to $193 million, a 60% increase, according to budget figures reported by CumberLink.
Statewide, 62,412 students were enrolled in Pennsylvania's 84 career and technical centers as of the 2023-24 academic year, according to a Center for American Progress report. Nearly 61% of those students are concentrators who have completed at least two courses in a specific program, nearly double the national average.
The $10 million in new CTE funding is already enacted in the signed budget. CCIU has also received separate state funding this year through the Department of Labor and Industry's Schools-to-Work grant program for a health care career pre-apprenticeship training program, one of 17 projects statewide totaling more than $4.1 million.
