State Awards Nearly $13 Million to Community College District

May 28, 2015

By ALEXANDER NGUYEN | City News Service

The Riverside Community College District is slated to receive a $12.8 million boost for programs that steer students into “high-demand fields” of the future, it was announced.

The California Department of Education awarded the grant under the California Career Pathways Trust Program, which was created in 2013 as one tool on the education front to bolster the state’s economic prospects.

Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, heralded the grant as a “critical investment” in the region’s future and vital to “create real jobs in high- demand fields.”

“I am very pleased that by awarding this grant, the Department of Education has recognized RCCD’s regional and statewide significance in achieving those goals,” Roth said.

The college district, which operates campuses in downtown Riverside, Moreno Valley and Norco, will apply the funds to its 18 career technical education programs, focusing on information and communication technologies, advanced manufacturing, health sciences and medical technology development, according to RCCD officials.

Roth said the Legislature approved $250 million for the Career Pathways Trust Program in the current fiscal year, adding to the $250 million in seed funds that went into it in 2013-14.