NEW ULM — The District 88 School Board discussed bringing Project Lead the Way (PLTW) to New Ulm public schools during Thursday’s work session.

New Ulm Business Resource and Innovation Center director Paul Wessel gave a presentation on PLTW. The program introduces students to engineering, computer and biomedical science. Wessel believes education that emphasizes this education is necessary to meet shifting economic demands.

Wessel said in the United States birthrates are decreasing, resulting in fewer workers to fill positions in manufacturing. This means manufacturers like 3M or Kraft have two choices: stay here and automate or go to a place where there are more workers.

Wessel said there is also a push for greater automation in farming, which will further impact rural Minnesota.

He suggested these problems are a chance to reinvent the community by embracing state-of-the-art science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in New Ulm. PLTW is one of the most popular K-12 STEM programs in the United States. PLTW could serve as a gateway to teaching local students robotics and automation, Wessel said.

Multiple schools in New Ulm have already adopted PLTW, including St. Paul’s Lutheran School, Minnesota Valley Lutheran, New Ulm Area Catholic Schools and Martin Luther College.

Wessel said if all schools in the community are teaching PLTW, this could help attract manufacturers to New Ulm by showing there is a pool of students trained in STEM.

Board member Steve Gag asked Supt. Jeff Bertrang if there were any drawbacks to bringing PLTW to the district.

Bertrang said it was not necessarily a drawback, but PLTW does not currently align with state science standards. Public schools must follow state standards. If PLTW was introduced to New Ulm schools it cannot substitute all requirements for science, meaning it would be classified as an enrichment program.

As private schools, the other schools in New Ulm were able to implement PLTW without the need to align with state standards.

Bertrang said the cost for the Middle School robotic course is around $70,000. This includes teacher training for every course. A PLTW scholarship program exists to cover the cost, but there is a requirement the school will add a new course every year for three years.

The district will need to look at the capacity to add courses each year while making sure the other science requirements are met.

The district would have the option to choose certain PLTW courses. Wessel said Cathedral started with PLTW with only computer science.

Bertrang said the high school course is more reasonable in terms of resource costs. The middle school robotic program is a larger cost because it will require 180 students in a trimester using the same resources.

Wessel encouraged the district to look at the issue through the eyes of the major employers in New Ulm and the type of workers they will need in the future.

“It’s a changing economy,” he said. “There are more levels of automation everywhere. I think towns to the west of us are going to shrink, schools are going to continue to shrink. What resources do we have for them?”

The next regular school board meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 25 in the District boardroom 414 S. Payne Street.