The Connecticut Department of Education suspended operations at J.M. Wright Technical High School for at least a year, after the Stamford vocational school filled less than 170 of its 700 seats for the coming school year.
Wright Tech”™s curriculum includes training for careers in food service, hairdressing, and mechanical trades like auto repair, plumbing and electrical work. A drive to keep the school open has been championed by Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, a resident of Stamford.
The school would have required an additional $8 million in funding to open this fall, according to Mark McQuillan, commissioner of education for the state of Connecticut.
“Over the past year, we have explored a number of options to revitalize this school ”¦Â The state”™s economic downturn and the close proximity of opening day make it next to impossible to proceed with any of these options,” McQuillan said.
Those proposals have included transforming the school into a vocational finishing school for high school juniors and seniors; and creating a “middle college” concept linking Wright Tech with Norwalk Community College. As part of a wide-ranging education bill passed last month, lawmakers required Wright Tech and Norwalk Community College to establish a partnership to operate during the 2010-11 academic year.
Wright Tech students were offered the option of returning to their local school districts or applying to enter Henry Abbot Technical School in Danbury.
