SALINEVILLE — State and local officials gathered in Salineville March 20 as the Utica Shale Academy officially broke ground for its second welding lab.

Community leaders, educators and stakeholders were present at the site, next to the current exterior welding lab at 83 E. Main St., to celebrate the latest addition to the community school’s campus. PDDM Solutions of Canonsburg, Pa., was awarded the initial $907,000 bid for the structure with FMD Architects Inc., of Fairlawn performing the work, but the addition of extra welding labs could bring costs closer to $1.5 million. Officials said funding was provided through an Appalachian Community Grant and work should be finished in August.

Superintendent Bill Watson joined leaders for a brief reception at the Williams Collaboration Building and said the building would help train today’s students for tomorrow’s workforce.

“Utica Shale Academy has had a very nice uptick in participation. We went from 50 students five years ago to 170 students now,” he said, adding that the facilities offer skills and trades for students to succeed.

He thanked U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, state Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, R-Columbiana, and state Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, for their support.

Watson noted that the current outside welding facility likely was the only one of its kind in the state and students learn to work in various conditions to prepare them for the job.

“It’s making our Ohio workforce stronger and can allow more students to weld. We never imagined having more than 80 students wanting to weld,” he added. “The Utica Shale Academy is a community coming together to raise our youth.”

He also recognized local, county and state officials, saying efforts would not be possible without their support.

Cutrona then commented that legislators were tasked with being good stewards of taxpayer funds, and he, Rep. Blasdel and Congressman Rulli saw an opportunity with USA.

“This welding facility has already shown success and H.B. 2 provided $1.3 million for the building. We’re taking the youth and putting them in the best talents and abilities.”

Rulli was not on hand but shared his regards from Washington, saying the delegation believed in what the school was doing.

Meanwhile, Blasdel said Utica Shale Academy had a long history of empowering the community’s young people by helping them seek gainful employment.

“What we strive to do is to put students on the pathway to a successful future. This new facility will build upon that legacy,” she added.

She and Sen. Cutrona also presented Watson with commendations for USA’s ongoing success and the crowd moved on to the construction site for the official groundbreaking ceremony.

Stephanie Voulamantis, project manager with PDDM, said the wood-framed structure will feature metal siding and roofing. It was designed with 18 welding labs but could be increased to hold 26 at the conclusion.

“The school is looking to open it at the end of August,” she said. “We started doing underground stakeouts for grading and utilities and over the next week will dig footers for the foundation. In two weeks, we’ll pour the concrete.”

The new building is a restructuring of previous plans for a three-story structure. Watson explained that a funding request by Congressman Rulli, which was made while he was still a state senator, yielded a smaller amount and caused officials to take a different course of action. USA was the first recipient of Gov. Mike DeWine’s $500 million Appalachian Community Grant to construct a new building and expand the welding, heavy equipment and robotics programs. The school has already used some funds to make improvements at the Williams Collaboration Building that houses the USA administrative offices, new junior high program and cafeteria. Watson said the cafeteria was renovated to house the kitchen and dining area while the offices, windows and boiler were updated, plus an ERV air circulation system was to be finished in the spring.

Since its inception roughly a decade ago, the Utica Shale Academy has established a campus in the village comprised of the Hutson Building, the Energy Training Center, the Williams Collaboration Center and the outdoor welding site along East Main Street as well as the Utica Shale Academy Community Center that is housed on Church Street. About 170 students in grades 7-12 currently attend the community school, which is a dropout recovery and retention facility that focuses career-tech education for at-risk pupils. More than 150 students have graduated with more than 1,100 certifications being earned since 2021.