Washington County Voters Approve Bond to Expand Central Vermont Career Center
Washington County voters approved a $54.9 million bond to fund a new campus for the Central Vermont Career Center, nearly doubling the technical education capacity for regional high school students after a larger proposal failed the previous year, VTDigger reported.
Washington County Voters Pass Second Career Center Bond Attempt
Residents across 18 towns cast ballots following a multi-day tally that concluded on Thursday. The construction bond passed with 60% approval, recording 9,753 votes in favor and 6,609 opposed, according to the career center’s official announcement. Voters also approved a separate 30-year land lease with the Washington County Unified Union School District by a 62% margin to place the facility next to the U-32 Middle and High School in Montpelier.
The successful vote follows a sharp defeat in November 2025, when voters rejected a $149 million bond proposing a 167,000-square-foot standalone facility on a 27-acre property in Graniteville, Barre Town. Times Argus reported that the earlier plan failed 5,751 to 3,873. District leaders subsequently revised the project down to a 61,000-square-foot, two-story facility at U-32 while retaining the existing center at Barre’s Spaulding High School.
Surging Applications Create Severe Bottlenecks in Vocational Programs
The current facility at Spaulding High School accommodates roughly 250 students, but applications have surged. Jody Emerson, the center’s director, noted that more than 400 students applied for the 2025-26 academic year. The center had 443 applications for the 2025-26 school year compared with just 134 applicants for the 2020-21 school year—an increase of 230% in five years.
Specific vocational programs face severe bottlenecks. Emerson pointed out that the automotive program regularly draws over 70 applicants for just 16 available seats due to physical space limitations in the existing auto shop and classroom. When construction finishes, the two-campus configuration aims to expand total enrollment to approximately 450 students.
Program offerings will be divided between the two locations based on student interest and trade weight. Heavier trades, such as construction and transportation, will remain housed at the Barre center. Meanwhile, pathways involving hospitality, arts, and health will operate out of the new Montpelier campus next to U-32.
District Officials Project Construction Could Begin in Spring 2028
District officials project that construction on the Montpelier facility could begin as early as spring 2028. If timelines hold, doors would open to students in fall 2030.
The updated two-campus strategy aligns with state objectives to develop regional high schools that blend technical skills with academic credits and industry-recognized credentials. Voters authorized the 2.3-acre land lease from the Washington Central Unified Union School District alongside the primary bond measure, clearing the legal hurdles required to site the building on the U-32 campus.