Botetourt’s two mechatronics instructors spent two weeks in July in Nuremberg, Germany
where they took a course to earn Siemens Level 1 Certification in the technology field that’s
become a critical component in today’s industries.
Kurtis Kennedy and Chris Balthis were recognized for their accomplishments during last
Thursday’s Botetourt School Board meeting in Fincastle. They were the only two high school teachers and United States residents in the class that had higher-level instructors from Canada, South Africa, South Korea and China.
The training is part of the mechatronics program being instituted at Botetourt Technical Education Center (BTEC) in conjunction with a higher-level program at Virginia Western
Community College. Funding for equipment and the training comes from a $310,000 grant to BTEC and VWCC for a pilot mechatronic engineering program that was approved by the General Assembly in 2017.
Del. Terry Austin submitted an amendment to the state budget last year that included the
$310,000 for faculty accreditation and equipment for a pilot first-year mechatronic technician course in a partnership with BTEC and Virginia Western Community College (VWCC). The program is designed to meet a need for employees for the new industries coming to Botetourt. The program goal is to prepare 100 mechatronic engineering technicians over five years and a sustainable faculty preparation program.
School Superintendent John Busher noted that mechatronics is now a component in just about every industry. He said when the school division representatives met with local industries, that kind of training was one of the major needs for future employees.
Seimens is a worldwide conglomerate that is involved in many advanced industrial manufacturing ventures and is a leader in industrial automation.
BTEC’s mechatronics lab uses Seimens equipment. Funding for the lab equipment came from a $37,500 state grant last year to purchase career and technical education equipment (CTE) through the Career and Technical Education Competitive Innovative Program Equipment Grant program.
BTEC used the grant for five MecLab Training Systems. Each costs $8,864. The systems
contain three simplified models of typical production processes found in automated factories, according to the school division’s application for the grant.
Supervisor of Instruction Keith Pennington told the School Board the mechatronics
program goal is to create students who can go directly into the workforce.
The training Kennedy and Balthis received will allow them to provide Level 1 Certification for students this year. The program is scheduled to get started in the second semester.
The BTEC program will provide Botetourt students with the mechatronics program that
is also taught at the Regional Academy in Roanoke. “Now, we’ll have the same here, only
with better equipment,” Pennington told the School Board.
VWCC will also become a training facility to train trainers, he said. BTEC will have 13
students in the program this year.
He said Level 1 students qualify for jobs right out of high school, and those who get Level
2 certification get more training and make more money, or they can go on to four-year institutions like Virginia Tech and MIT where they learn mechatronics design.
“Hopefully, this will make them employable right here in Botetourt County and ready for the
global economy,” School Board Chair Michelle Crook said.
First Day Enrollment Busher was cautious but optimistic that the first day attendance on
August 8 is a good sign. He said the school division had 4,718 students on the first day—
total. The state projected 4,576 students and the school division built its budget on 4,505 students. He noted the number will fluctuate and first day is only a count.
“We’re starting out pretty good based on the budget,” he said.
Average Per Pupil Expenditure
As required by law, Busher presented the board with the average per pupil expenditures
for the past two fiscal years and what’s budgeted for the current fiscal year.
For operations, the total per pupil expenditure estimate is down slightly for the current
year — $12,167. The 2017-18 estimate per pupil is $12,256. In 2016- 17 it was $11,359.
State funding is up slightly per pupil, from $4,47 in 2016-17, to $4,388 in 2017-18 to an
estimated $4,548 this fiscal year.
Local funds went up from $5,525 in 2016-17 to $6,044 in 2017-18. This fiscal year, the estimate is local funds per pupil will be down to $5,830.
Busher noted the county’s composite index— its ability to pay for schools— has gone up,
meaning the county has a greater capacity to support public schools. It’s part of the formula used by the state to decide how much funding the state provides to a school
division. The higher the composite index, the less state funding.
