The Erie County Technical School had a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of their renovations. One student Kendra Ramey is a level three for the early childhood education program. Ramey said she was thrilled to see the upgrades finally complete. 

“Things were just super amazing. Everyone is so excited we have labs that are doubling this year thanks to the construction. So we just have so many more opportunities for our students,” Ramey said.   

It’s a project that’s been long in the works and was finished right before a new batch of students is welcomed into the classrooms. 

“This renovation has been talked about for over a dozen years, trying to get it done, . . now it’s been three years of active construction. We’re wrapping it up and were excited about a record number of those in class. We will have 441 new students for this school year,” Director of Erie County Technical School Matt LaVerde said.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony happened along with an open house. LaVerde said he was surprised how many people showed up. 

"With stuff going on like football -- we’re thinking that we’d get 60-70 percent of the kids here. We almost got all of them, but more impressively, we have over 600 parents in there. So the parents came out in full force to support their kids, to support their education of their kids, and to prepare them for the workforce. That’s what we’re really excited about,” LaVerde said.