$1.5 million earmarked for Clark College to boost Ridgefield program

Students pursuing robotics, clean energy, manufacturing and material science at the Ridgefield campus will learn how to operate machine tools such as computer numerically controlled lathes, waterjet cutters, 3D printers and more. Among the specific focuses will be those careers in clean energy in which students will be trained as technicians in the emerging and expanding markets of solar, wind and hydroelectric power.

The campus will also offer classes in general education and provide supplemental opportunities for high school students enrolled in Running Start, a dual-enrollment program for 11th- and 12th-graders.

Kevin Damore, a spokesperson for Clark, said that the final building concept for the Boschma Farms campus will cost an estimated $48 million. The $1.5 million provided in this bill was not anticipated when planning for the project began in the mid-2010s.

Clark College anticipates a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new campus will be held sometime in June, with construction planned to start in early 2023.

In total, the omnibus bill will provide $51.7 million to the state, with an estimated $14.1 million of that being designated to 10 projects in Southwest Washington.

Congressional earmarks, also known as direct spending, were reintroduced in 2021 after a 10-year hiatus in response to calls for increased transparency in the distribution of federal awards.