State legislators tour Collinsville vocational center expansion | The Locally Times
The January visit by state lawmakers followed the school board's recognition of students for a campus construction project, though public records do not yet detail the expansion's budget or scope.
The district document states that Illinois State Senator Erica Harriss (R-Glen Carbon) and State Representative Amy Elik (R-Alton) toured the CAVC expansion site to get a firsthand look at the project's progress. The Collinsville Area Vocational Center is an integral part of the Collinsville school district, providing career and technical education. The purpose of the tour, as stated in the district's communication, was for the legislators to observe the ongoing work at the expansion site. The announcement did not elaborate on what specific aspects of the expansion were reviewed during the visit. ## Tour Follows Student Recognition The legislative tour occurred two days after the Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 Board of Education formally recognized CAVC students for a recent construction project. At its January 26, 2026, meeting, the board honored the students for their work in building a new pedestrian bridge on the Collinsville High School Campus as part of a class project. This follows a January report by The Locally Times detailing the students' work and the initial recognition by the school board. The district’s March 10 announcement linked the two events, first noting the student honors and then the subsequent legislative visit. The public record does not specify if the student-built bridge is a component of the larger CAVC expansion or a separate campus improvement initiative. ## Expansion Details Undisclosed in Public Records While the district's announcement confirms the legislative visit, it does not provide key details about the vocational center's expansion. Publicly available documents do not specify the project's total budget, its funding sources, or a timeline for completion. The specific vocational programs or facilities being added or enlarged as part of the expansion are also not detailed in the record. Furthermore, the announcement from the school district does not include any statements, observations, or potential commitments made by Senator Harriss or Representative Elik following their tour. The documents do not clarify what specific “progress” the legislators observed or what topics were discussed. As a result, the full scope of the project and any potential state-level support or policy discussions related to the CAVC expansion remain outside the public record at this time. Future school board agendas and district budget documents may provide more information on the project's financial and programmatic details.