Red Hook High School is planning to launch a welding career and technical education pathway program in 2026-27, the next expansion of an already robust menu of technology classes offered to students.
Students who complete the welding pathway would not only satisfy a graduation requirement, they would also be able to obtain an American Welding Society certification.
In order to provide the level of instruction necessary for the full slate of classes, though, the school’s technology classrooms will need upgrades. Proposition No. 2 on the district’s budget and Board of Education election ballot asks residents to approve up to $1.16 million for those improvements.
Polls will be open for the May 19 vote from noon to 9 p.m. at Mill Road Elementary School’s 3-5 cafeteria. Absentee, early-mail and military voting options are also available. Learn more at https://redhookcentralschools.org/find-voting-information
The capital improvements would not only aid the welding and metalworking facilities in room 185, it would allow room 183 to transform into a dedicated woodworking shop. Currently, classes work with both materials in room 185.
“We really shouldn’t be grinding metal in the same room as we have dry wood,” Technology Teacher Steve Hutman said. “With the increase in students enrolling in both the metal and wood programs it just makes sense to have a separate, dedicated space.”
Red Hook this year offers 13 different technology courses, including dedicated instruction in metalworking, woodworking, residential construction, automotive repair and other areas. The expansion of welding instruction was birthed from quantifiable increases in metal class enrollment and anecdotal conversations with those students asking for more welding opportunities. Whereas 30 freshmen were enrolled in metalworking this year, more than 50 eighth-grade students have signed up for next year.
Red Hook currently has four students who attend Dutchess BOCES’ two-year welding program, which is the maximum spots in the program BOCES could make available to the district. By establishing its own in-house program, Red Hook would save money on those spots, while more completely satisfying student demand. And, without the bus ride each day to the Town of Poughkeepsie and back, students would be able to attend more of Red Hook’s class offerings in other subjects.
The upgrades to both classrooms would include more ventilation, more electrical outlets and more electrical capacity to serve more machinery. Hutman envisions 10 welding booths, each with a Miller welder, creating space for 20 students to take each class.
“Welding produces smoke and gases,” Hutman said. “That all needs to be ventilated out for the safety of the students and also, too, just to be up to (OSHA) code.”
Welding I was approved as a new class for the 2026-27 school year. The full four-year welding pathway includes the existing Design and Drawing for Production, Career and Financial Management, and Materials Processing: Metal courses, as well as a still-to-be approved Welding II class and a capstone independent study project. Welding II would need board approval to begin with the 2027-28 school year.
Read more about the May 19 Ballot here