State rep’s comments on Cape tech school catch many by surprise
State Rep. Mike Giallombardo didn’t have to be asked what he thinks of Cape Coral Technical College. His review of the school was that he was not “100 percent impressed at all.”
Giallombardo made that statement last week during the opening minutes of his remarks to the Cape Coral Construction Industry Association during its monthly dinner meeting at the Palmetto Pines Country Club.
It was something that caught some people off guard, and took one Cape Coral council member in particular aback.
Giallombardo said he had toured CCTC recently.
“I believe the school doesn’t meet the demands the construction industry wants. There are a lot of things that need to change,” Giallombardo said before introducing two school board candidates, Sam Fisher and Jada Langford, whom he supported.
Through directed toward a construction industry audience with specific skilled hiring needs, the comments took more than a few people by surprise.
Councilmember Tom Hayden was at the meeting and didn’t appreciate Giallombardo’s comments.
“There are a lot of great things going on at the school. A mayor’s scholarship for their culinary program. I don’t know his justification for saying that, but it wasn’t necessary,” Hayden said. “They’re doing a lot with mechanics and different things. It may not be exactly what the CCCIA is doing, but they’re looking at opportunities to accelerate those programs.”
Mayor John Gunter said the facility has changed a lot since coming to office in 2017 and that Giallombardo is entitled to his opinion.
“I think a trade school is an important aspect of us in Lee County. Whatever we need to do to help them will be good for the community,” Gunter said. “I think he expressed concern on how the school is being managed.”
Bill Johnson Jr., CCCIA executive director, said CCTC needs to bring back the trade component as it had in the past, which is now offered at Fort Myers Technical College.
“There are a lot of kids going into the trades. What better way to stay in Cape Coral and not have to travel across the river? I think that was the crux of what the representative was saying,” Johnson said. “To allow more programs here that they have in Fort Myers.”
Charlie Pease, director at CCTC, said in an e-mail the school offers numerous state-approved certification programs and will expand its offerings as the school expands physically in the coming years, especially for the construction industry.
“CCTC currently offers 16 state-approved career certification programs in the areas of Healthcare, Technology, Business, Culinary Arts, Barbering, Cosmetology, and Veterinary Assisting. Approximately 300 students graduate from Cape Coral Technical College each year, with an average of 91 percent of all completers gaining employment in their specific field of instruction,” Pease said in the e-mail.
As for construction, which has not been among CCTC’s offerings in recent years, Pease said the school district plans to construct two new buildings on the existing CCTC campus in the next few years.
CCTC anticipates breaking ground on an Automotive and Marine Service Technology building next spring with those two programs opening in fall 2024.
Additionally, a third building, slated for construction in 2025, will house new skilled-trades programs such as HVAC, welding, and Building Trades and Construction Design Technology.
Mary Fischer, District 1 Lee County School Board member, said the problem with CCTC is more marketing and letting people know what’s being offered there.
“We’d like to invite people to come in and tour the school and see the data on job placements and success of those who graduate from those programs,” Fischer said. “In the Cape we have the medical programs, but we have a two-part plan in writing to expand. People are sometimes a little bit uninformed.”
Giallombardo could not be reached for further comment.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com