Pioneer Technology Center

The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education (ODCTE, commonly known and branded as CareerTech) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma located in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

CareerTech oversees a statewide system of career and technology education. The system comprises 29 technology center districts and 395 comprehensive school districts. CareerTech also has skills centers that serve state correctional facilities and juvenile detention facilities. The State Board of Career and Technology Education is the governing body of the department, composed of the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction and eight members appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the department forms the core of Oklahoma's public education system.

History

The Oklahoma CareerTech System began with the passing of the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 by President Woodrow Wilson. This act made available federal money for the promotion of vocational education. In 1929, the Division of Vocational Education was established as part of the State Department of Education. The department moved from Oklahoma City to Stillwater in 1932, and in 1941, the state legislature established the position of state director of vocational education. J.B Perky was the first director. In 1966, Oklahoma technology center school districts were formed, and in 1967, Tri County Tech became the state's first area vocational-technical school. On July 1, 1968, the Oklahoma State Board of Vocational and Technical Education was established as a separate entity from the State Department of Education. In 1971, the first delivery of training to inmates in
Skills Center
https://www.okcareertech.org/about/state-agency/divisions/skills-centers/skills-centers] at the Ouachita facility took place.

On May 19, 2000, Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating signed House Bill 2128, which officially and immediately changed its name to the Department of Career and Technology Education.

Economic impact

Recent Census Bureau survey data indicate that Oklahoma workers who have completed the equivalent of a two-year program with a vocational or occupational emphasis earned 20 percent more than workers with only high school diplomas the past two decades. These income gains can in turn contribute significantly to the overall level of income statewide. Over the work life, a typical career major completer can expect to add more than $475,000, or $188,000 in current dollars, to lifetime earnings relative to completing no additional education beyond high school.

In current dollars, the direct benefits are $1.84 billion in future income gains to completers, $138 million in added tax revenue to state and local government, and direct in-state spending of $185 million for the delivery of the career major instructional programs statewide. Indirect benefits include $1.66 billion in estimated spillover income gains to the broader state economy which in turn produce $124 million in tax revenue.

Leadership

The department is led by the state director and the CareerTech board. Brent Haken serves as the state director.

Board of Career and Technology Education

The State Board of Career and Technology Education is a nine-member board composed of the Oklahoma superintendent of public instruction (who serves as the chairman of the board), two members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education, one member from each of the state's congressional districts and one at-large member.

All members, except ex officio members, are appointed by the governor of Oklahoma and confirmed by the Oklahoma Senate

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