Grant delivered for aerospace jobs, Early College East

Local educators and state officials are trying to keep jobs in an industry that first took off in North Carolina with the Wright Brothers more than 100 years ago.

Craven Community College and Craven County Schools officially recognized a $735,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation on Wednesday.

Part of the grant included $200,000 to renovate a building at Havelock Middle School for Early College East, a school where students will focus on the science, technology and math needed for aerospace jobs.

Dan Gerlach, foundation president, said jobs in the aerospace industry have ended up elsewhere over the years.

“Eastern North Carolina is where flight began,” Gerlach said. “We want some of our jobs back. The two grants here are important for the knowledge, talent and skill for them to stay here.”

The grant will also help the community college hire an additional aviation instructor for the Aviation Systems Technology program at its Havelock campus. Some of the money will also be used at the college’s composites lab at the Bosch-Siemens Advanced Manufacturing Center in New Bern.

Larry Moser, superintendent of Craven County Schools, said the Golden LEAF money will go a long way to help Early College East in Havelock.

Still, the renovation to the building, which used to house vocational classes and also served as storage, is now anticipated to cost $350,000 and has yet to be completed.

When Early College classes started on Wednesday, the 50 students were split into classrooms at CCC’s Havelock campus and in the main building at Havelock Middle School.

Moser said continuing to find money for the 13 to 14 teachers and administrators, student laptops and other special tools early college students need “will be challenging.”

More than $4.2 million in Golden LEAF money from its $71 million in grant allocations this year is going to support aerospace-related programs, Gerlach said. It is also contributing money this year for work near the Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station, at Lenoir Community College related to Spirit AeroSystems, in the Triad tied to Honda Jet and B/E Aerospace employers and in Monroe to aid with training for a new Turbo Mac company there.

The Rocky Mount-based foundation distributes money from North Carolina’s share of the tobacco settlement.