Demand for tech classes strong, classes cut

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Administrators say more high school students are turning to career and technical classes in Minnesota as the cost of college rises.

But, despite the growing demand, the number of career and technical classes has declined from about 2,750 to 1,200 between 2008 and 2011. Limited federal and state funding and a greater emphasis on meeting standards of the No Child Left Behind Act have left technical schools with fewer classes and more students.

Minnesota’s Center for Postsecondary Success supervisor Daniel Smith tells the Star Tribune it can be “rugged while running an auto mechanic class with 60 kids.”

There are five career and technical school left statewide. Duluth recently closed its Secondary Technical Center.