Chad Fallon, executive director of Career & Technical Education for Medford Public Schools, gave a grants and program update at the Nov. 18 meeting.

Fallon said the district’s FY26 baseline CTE budget is $254,500 and that new grant funding awarded so far totals about $542,000. He described uses: targeted professional development for CTE faculty, aligning technical programs with academic offerings (in partnership with Boston College’s Lynch School), and funding development for new Chapter 74 programs in plumbing and information support services/networking.

Fallon said Perkins funds (federal CTE dollars) will be used for equipment upgrades in culinary, film/TV and cosmetology programs, for OSHA training and for subsidizing student costs such as boots and uniforms. He also said the district received a Skills Capital award of $404,000 to invest directly in the auto-tech program for EV engine and electric-vehicle training—a multi-year award for the district and among the larger awards in the state.

Fallon identified an additional Department of Education allocation of roughly $35,000 for competency-based implementation and said the district has applied for another larger grant; a decision is expected in December. Fallon said Perkins typically covers supplies and equipment, not salaries.

Committee members thanked Fallon and asked clarifying questions; administration said the presentation was informational and that no formal acceptance was required for the grants noted.