Township Council OKs Construction Program Partnership With Board Of Education

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With an enrollment-based “guardrail” in place, the Township Council on April 9 voted to partner with the Board of Education to offer some Franklin High School students training in the construction trades.

The Council voted to fund the program with $300,000 from its American Recovery Program funds. Franklin received more than $7.7 million in those federal funds, of which about $5.5 million has already been allocated for various projects.

The idea to partner with the Board of Education to offer the program – presented by North Brunswick-based Brenshirer Training Institute, a workforce development company – was discussed by the Council in March.

Although it was supported by Township Manager Robert Vornlocker and Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois (D-At Large), several other Council members expressed reservations about it at that March meeting.

The program will be offered to students in the Road to Success program, special needs students and general education students during summer school, and also in the 2024-2025 school year. The course would be delivered at Franklin Middle School – Hamilton Street campus.

Upon completing the course, students will receive a certification from the National Center for Construction Education and Research.

Brenshirer provided a similar course for Franklin Middle School students last year, Vornlocker said at the March meeting. He said the success of that program spurred district administration to contact the Township for a partnership opportunity.

But Deputy Mayor Ed Potosnak and Council members Ram Anbarasan (D-At Large) and James Vassanella (D-Ward 5) said they had reservation about the program.

Those reservations included how the program’s success would be measured, whether the money could be used more efficiently by holding the program at Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School in Bridgewater, and and whether the money would be better spent on township infrastructure projects.

It was decided at the end of the discussion in March that the matter would be revisited after the Board of Education-Township Committee representatives joint meeting earlier this month.

That meeting, held April 4, removed any reservations the Council members had.

One of the “guardrails” agreed to by the Board and Council was to condition the Council’s contribution on a set minimum enrollment threshold.

Vornlocker said schools Superintendent John Ravally agreed to a minimum of 20 students enrolled by June 15.

“If he was unable to get 20 students enrolled in the program by June 15, we would not provide the funding,” Vornlocker said. “He’s confident that he will have no issues whatsoever filling the seats in this class.”

Vornlocker said Ravally will provide the Council with periodic reports so the program can be evaluated “for any future funding.”

“It also would give us a gauge on whether or not we would like to offer this program ourselves,” he said.

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