GROTON – In 2015, the decision was made to shutter the carpentry program at Ella T Grasso Technical High School at the end of the 2018 school year.
On Friday, carpenters rallied outside of the school saying the program should not be shut down and the need for carpenters is greater than ever.
Just a few hundred yards away, construction is being done to build a brand new building for the Ella Grasso Tech School. According to Sen. Heather Somers, there was an empty lab on the building plans originally designated for carpentry, but now that room is no longer being used for that purpose, according to updated plans.
Norwich Tech will now take on additional carpentry students, increasing their cap from 12 to 18 students, and according to the office of the uperintendent of technical high schools in the state, no student looking to study carpentry will be turned away and if that means hiring a third, additional instructor, it will be done.