(ABC 6 News) – You may be aware of a program that helps students get into nursing or IT career fields, P-TECH 535. On Thursday, that program is at risk for Rochester students.

During last year’s legislative session, language was changed slightly to divide Rochester’s yearly $791,000 in state funding so it can go to any district. RPS is using carry-over funds to keep the program going this year. But depending on what lawmakers decide, the program could shut down if they don’t find funding elsewhere.

“There’s kind of two paths, one would be can you just maintain the funding only for Rochester? Or, the alternative is next year we would maintain all the funding then we would have a decrease two years from now, and then a decrease three years from now. Then, Rochester would need to fully fund the program locally with some state support to help us share it with other districts,” Rochester Superintendent Kent Pekel tells ABC 6.

The first students to try the program are currently juniors. If the program gets cut, they will still earn some college credits. Republican Senator Carla Nelson of Rochester says there’s ways to start new education programs, but that’s not by cutting funding.

“Those who are involved in P-TECH know that it is an incredibly long-ranged program and it takes an immense amount of planning. And no one, no one, would start a P-TECH program if they knew that program was going to be gone in two years,” Nelson (R-Rochester) said.

DLF Senator Liz Boldon, also of Rochester, supports P-TECH funding and voted in favor of an amendment Sen. Nelson introduced earlier this week. Boldon issued the following statement to ABC 6, including these embedded links:

“During Senate Floor proceedings in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Senator Nelson offered an amendment relating to grant application criteria for P-TECH funding. It appears that Senator Nelson falsely claimed in a press release that I was in opposition to the amendment. However, while some Republicans and DFLers voted down the amendment due to lack of clarity about what the amendment would even do, I voted in support, which is recorded in the Senate Journal. As stated, conversations about P-TECH funding are still ongoing. I appreciate Sen. Nelson’s willingness to meet with me and stakeholders yesterday morning to discuss the path forward, and would prefer to remain focused on working together in good faith rather than misrepresenting words and actions in the press. Above all, I remain committed to delivering for Rochester-area students.

“Over the past several months, I have been in conversations with Rochester Public Schools, the MN Department of Education, and legislative partners to rectify language from last year’s education finance omnibus that left Rochester’s P-TECH program without any guaranteed funding in future years. The existing proposal in the Education Finance supplemental budget, brought forward in my bill SF 4035, would prevent a cliff in funding for Rochester and would be an improvement on existing law, but discussions are ongoing regarding a solution to the issue that would preserve full state funding for this marvelous program. I’m proud to share that I’ve recently been named to the Education Finance Conference Committee, where the final language of this year’s supplemental education budget will be decided, including provisions related to P-TECH. I look forward to this chance to bring the voice of Rochester into final budget negotiations, and it’s my top priority to ensure a resolution to the P-TECH question that delivers for Rochester students and families.”

The legislative session is set to end on May 22nd. Supt. Pekel says he imagines we’ll know the future of P-TECH in the next few days.