The St. George School district is receiving $1 million from the federal Community Project Funding for its new Career and Technical Education center in Tenants Harbor.

In 2021, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee reestablished Community Project Funding after the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress found that congressionally directed spending boosted bipartisanship, facilitated member-to-member cooperation, and gave members an equal stake in the success of appropriations bills.

“This funding will be transformational for our school and community,” said St. George Superintendent Mike Felton, in a March 6 news release. “It will allow us to complete construction of the CTE/Makerspace Building and realize our vision to provide all students, PreK-12, with access to career and technical education.”

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree helped to secure the funding, along with more than $15.7 million in CPF for 14 other First District projects, in the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding package passed by the full House of Representatives today. 

“Congresswoman Pingree's faith in our vision — and the incredible support she is providing to this project — will help us develop a model for communities across Maine and the nation who want to re-engage students in learning, build a more skilled and diversified workforce, and fuel local economic development,” said Felton. “We will always be grateful for the Congresswoman's faith in our vision and support for our work.”

In the release, Pingree said: “The St. George Career Technical Education/Makerspace Building will bring the trades, technology, and innovation back to the heart of public education and provide Pre-K through 8th-grade students access to hands-on curriculum previously only available to high schoolers. This first-of-its-kind Career and Technical Education center in Maine will not only engage students in learning, but will help them develop important technical and social-emotional skills needed to succeed in life and improve their communities. Teachers, parents, and St. George community members have been working to bring the Makerspace project to life for years, and I am overjoyed I could help push this project closer to the finish line.”

With the funding secured by Pingree, St. George MSU will be able to finish construction and furnish the new building with the necessary equipment, furniture, and technology – making the Makerspace operational. 

For the 2024 Fiscal Year, each House member was permitted to submit 15 projects for consideration, which had to be thoroughly vetted and publicly disclosed on their website.

Pingree has been a member of the House Appropriations Committee since 2013 and is Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.