The Idaho Career Ready Students (ICRS) council met this week to reconsider 17 proposals that were recommended for funding by the council previously, but were not awarded due to a lack of program funds. These new grant approvals were made possible through an additional $20 million appropriation from the Idaho Legislature made during the 2024 session.
Boundary County School District 101 was awarded $1,544,340 to expand and upgrade the CTE program at Bonners Ferry High School.
ICRS grants are designed to reduce reliance on federal funds for Career Technical Education (CTE) programming. To date, the council has awarded over $62.5 million to help fund 72 total proposals. ICRS funding determinations are made by an 11-member council that considers factors such as partnership with local industry, sustainability of the proposed program and responsiveness to community and statewide workforce needs.
“It’s exciting to see this money getting to schools so it can do what it’s meant to do: benefit Idaho students in a concrete way,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield. “As more and more Idaho Career Ready Students projects get off the ground, we’re eager to see what this will mean for students, industry partners and communities throughout Idaho.”
The council will consider reopening the application period in an upcoming meeting.