Every generation is asked to make investments that will shape the future of its community.
For Adams County, that investment is our young people.
Career and Technical Education is no longer simply an alternative pathway. It has become one of the most important economic development tools available to communities. Employers need skilled workers, and students need modern training that prepares them for careers in today’s economy.
That’s why the future of the Adams County Technical Institute (ACTI) deserves careful consideration.
ACTI currently serves students from five of Adams County’s six school districts, while Upper Adams students travel to Cumberland Perry Area Career & Technical Center. Together, these students represent the future workforce of our manufacturers, construction companies, farms, hospitals, and small businesses.
The need has never been greater. Adams County’s population is aging, with residents age 65 and older increasing nearly 14 percent over the past five years. Meanwhile, manufacturing, health care, construction, and agriculture employ more than 21,000 county residents. Nearly 60 percent of our young adults have either a high school diploma or some college education, demonstrating that we already have the talent. Our responsibility is to ensure that talent has every opportunity to succeed here.
One statistic should give us pause: 68.6 percent of employed Adams County residents commute outside the county for work. Education often shapes where careers begin. Students build relationships with instructors, employers, classmates, and internship partners. Those connections frequently influence where they work—and ultimately where they choose to live.
That is why Career and Technical Education should be viewed as more than an educational discussion. It is a workforce discussion.
It is also why the conversation should be bigger than simply finding an available building.
A modern Career and Technical Education campus is fundamentally different from a traditional classroom. Manufacturing labs, health care simulation spaces, construction trades, agricultural technology, robotics, and emerging industries require facilities intentionally designed for hands-on learning. A purpose-built campus is not about building something bigger—it’s about building something that prepares our students for the careers they will enter over the next 30 to 50 years.
Communities should always be thoughtful stewards of taxpayer dollars. Cost matters. But so does value. The real question is not simply, “What costs less today?” It is, “What best prepares Adams County’s students and employers for the future?”
If we believe Career and Technical Education is one of the most important investments we can make in our workforce, then our students deserve a campus designed for that purpose.
Because the best investment Adams County can make isn’t simply in a building.
It’s in the young people who will one day build Adams County.
