More Information / County Comparisons
CTE is different in every county based on number of students, available budget, community needs, and other factors. Here are CTE data points for St. Joseph County and the five surrounding counties:
CTE Millage Rates
Local school districts in St. Joseph County do not receive the same tax support for CTE as those in some surrounding counties. Branch has the highest CTE millage rate in the state at 4.2 mills. Like St. Joseph County, Cass and Kalamazoo counties have no CTE millage. The CTE ballot proposal would ask for 1.0 mill and collect approximately $2.37M. Here are CTE millage rates and anticipated 2019-20 dollars to be generated in surrounding counties:
| Country | CTE Mills | $$$ |
|---|---|---|
| Branch | 4.2105 | $6.0M |
| Calhoun | 1.4538 | $6.0M |
| Cass | 0.0000 | $0 |
| Kalamazoo | 0.0000 | $0 |
| Van Buren | 2.4993 | $10.4M |
CTE Programs
Students in St. Joseph County do not have as many class choices as those in surrounding counties. The number of programs offered in a county depends on (1) budgets and (2) number of students served. While St. Joseph has the most students among southern-border counties, it offers the fewest number of CTE class options (see chart). Here is the approximate student count in each of the surrounding counties:
| County | # of K-12 Students |
|---|---|
| Branch | 5,700 |
| Calhoun | 22,600 |
| Cass | 6,700 |
| Kalamazoo | 35,000 |
| St. Joseph | 10,400 |
| Van Buren | 15,600 |
Does CTE Really Work?
Statistics from the 2019 CTE Follow-Up Survey taken 10 months after the 2018 graduation (87% response rate) show:
- 96% are employed or going to college
- 70% are in a field related to their CTE class.
- Of those who said they are available to work, 43% are employed fulltime;
- 62.5% were enrolled in college or post-secondary training. Half of those are pursuing an Associate’s Degree, and 42% a Bachelors Degree.
