'A beacon of opportunity': Career center groundbreaking held at Aiken Tech (2024)

A groundbreaking for the Aiken County Public School District’s new Career and Technology Center was held May 16. The center is being constructed on the campus of Aiken Technical College.

Aiken Tech President Dr. Forest Mahan called this groundbreaking “exciting and historic.”

“Today marks a significant milestone as we build upon our longstanding partnership with a local school district,” Mahan continued. “This new building will not only enhance this campus, but it will also serve as a beacon of opportunity and growth for our entire community.”

The new center will belong to the Aiken County Public School District, and is being constructed on Aiken Tech’s campus thanks to a partnership created between the two institutions in June 2023. This facility will allow ACPSD students to develop technical skills and explore career pathways prior to graduation.

Current ACPSD Superintendent King Laurence said that he can still picture himself and Mahan talking about the prospect of the building around two years ago.

“The relationship that I’ve had with Forest and that the school district has had with Aiken Technical College is something special, and has been very strong for a long time, and is going to continue strong for the next 50, 60 years while we share this space and work to prepare the workforce of the future,” he said.

Corey Murphy, ACPSD Chief Officer of Operations who will become district Superintendent in July, said: “The future is bright in Aiken County.”

The career center will occupy the space on Aiken Tech’s campus previously occupied by its 400 and 500/600 buildings. The center is planned to be completed by July 2025.

Funding for the project comes from MOX settlement dollars as well as funding made possible by voters who approved in 2014 a 1-cent sales tax for this project. The career center is one of five designated 1-cent sales tax projects, the other four being upgrades to Aiken High, North Augusta High, Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle/High and Leavelle McCampbell Middle.