Millions announced for Marion County Career Academy

HAMILTON --  The following press releases were provided by the Marion County Board of Education and Bevill State Community College. The group photo from event is courtesy of BSCC Multimedia Coordinator Nicole Smith. Please see the Wednesday, Sept. 23, Journal-Record for in-depth staff reporting on this event.

Marion County School System awarded $12.5 million grant to build new Marion County Career Academy

HAMILTON - In a public meeting on Thursday Sept. 17, officials announced the Marion County School System, in partnership with Bevill State Community College, has been awarded a $12.5 million Rural Career Technical Center Grant to construct a new facility for the Marion County Career Academy.
The grant represents the largest single grant awarded in the history of Marion County Schools and provides a transformative investment in career and technical education, workforce development and postsecondary opportunities for students throughout Marion County and the surrounding region.
The new Marion County Career Academy will provide students with access to state-of-the-art career and technical programs designed to prepare them for high-demand careers, while also creating opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials and college credit.
Through the partnership with Bevill State Community College, students will have access to dual-enrollment opportunities and seamless pathways into postsecondary technical programs. The academy will bring together secondary and postsecondary education in a way that allows students to explore career opportunities, develop valuable workforce skills and continue their education beyond high school.
State Senator Garlan Gudger played a significant role in advocating for the project and helping secure the resources necessary to make the vision a reality.
“This is the largest grant in the history of Marion County Schools,” said Gudger. “It shows what we can do when everybody works together! We all know how important workforce development is, and this is an investment in the people of Marion and surrounding counties.”
Superintendent Patrick Sutton and officials with the Marion County Board of Education have worked closely with Bevill State administrators and other community and industry partners to develop a vision for the career academy that responds to the workforce needs and opportunities of Northwest Alabama.
The academy will support career pathways in areas aligned with regional workforce demand, including advanced manufacturing, healthcare, skilled trades, agriculture and other technical fields.
“This grant is a game-changer for our students and our entire community,” said Sutton. “The MCCA and our partnership with BSCC allows us to offer specialized training that prepares our students directly for the modern workforce, while also providing academic dual-enrollment opportunities for students who plan to attend college after high school.”
Sutton added, “We are incredibly grateful for the leadership and partnership of Gudger, BSCC President Dr. Joel Hagood and the Bevill State Community College team, our board of education, and everyone who has worked behind the scenes to bring these resources to Marion County. This is a tremendous example of what can happen when education, government, higher education, business and our communities work together toward a common goal.”
Hagood added, “This partnership provides students with opportunities to earn credentials and college credit while preparing for careers.”
The MCCA is already serving students from all five Marion County high schools, temporarily utilizing existing spaces on the BSCC campus in Hamilton. The academy opened in fall 2026 with approximately 435 students enrolled.
The new facility will provide the space and resources necessary to expand the academy's programs and opportunities as the partnership between Marion County Schools and Bevill State continues to grow.
“This is about much more than constructing a building,” Sutton said. “We are building opportunities for our students and investing in the future of Marion County. We want every student to graduate with a plan for what comes next — whether that is entering the workforce, earning a technical credential, attending college or pursuing a combination of those pathways.”
Planning and design for the new facility will begin immediately. Additional details regarding construction timelines, facility design and specific program offerings will be announced as the project progresses.
Marion County Schools and BSCC are grateful to the State of Alabama, Gudger, the Marion County Board of Education and the many community and industry partners whose support has helped make this investment possible.

Marion County Schools, Bevill State announced $12.5 million grant to expand Marion County Career Academy

HAMILTON -- An announcement came Thursday that will shape the future of Marion County.
Dr. Patrick Sutton, superintendent of Marion County Schools, announced the Alabama State Department of Education awarded a $12.5 million Rural Career Tech Center Grant to the Marion County Board of Education, in partnership with Bevill State Community College.
The grant will allow Marion County Schools to expand the Marion County Career Academy. The new academy opened when the 2026-27 school year began on Bevill State’s Hamilton campus in a building that was renovated, allowing high school students to take career technical education and academic courses while earning college credit through dual enrollment — and at no cost.
“This is a huge win for Marion County and our students,” Sutton said. “With this $12.5 million, we will construct a new facility on the (Bevill State-Hamilton) property where the current dormitories are located. Bevill State has generously donated that property to the Marion County Board of Education.”
Sutton went on to explain the Alabama Legislature, with the leadership of Senate Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, created the Rural Career Tech Center Grant program in 2025. He said the program is designed to help build career tech centers in areas of rural Alabama.
 Sutton thanked Gudger for his efforts to make the grant possible.
“We’re incredibly blessed to have him working on behalf of Marion County. This grant would not have happened without Senator Gudger’s leadership,” he said.
Sutton said the need to expand the career academy was evident, due to high enrollment. This fall, he said more than 400 high school students are attending the MCCA from five high schools. There are six career tech dual enrollment programs in which high school students are enrolled on Bevill State’s Hamilton campus, with more to be added as space allows. In addition to career tech programs, dual enrollment academic courses are also offered.
“This semester alone, our Marion County students have received over $500,000 in scholarship money for college credit through BSCC,” Sutton said. “They’re earning industry credentials, college credit and valuable experience while they’re still in high school. This is what the partnership is all about. None of this would be possible without our friends at Bevill State, the people across Marion County Schools, our career tech teachers and staff, and the dedicated people working every day here at the career academy. To all of you again, I say, ‘thank you.’ We appreciate you, and the best is yet to come.”
Bevill State President Dr. Joel Hagood said he appreciates the partnership with Marion County Schools and the support of the Alabama Legislature to help carry out the vision for a more prosperous Marion County. He also thanked Alabama Community College System Chancellor Jimmy Baker for his support.
“This is what community is all about. This is what can happen when you work together. It is a win-win-win. It’s a win for our school system. It’s a win for Bevill State Community College, but, most importantly, it’s a win for the Marion County community at large,” Hagood said. “This opportunity here causes people to stand up and take notice. The possibilities that this will create as an attractor for economic development in the future are going to be huge.”
He continued, “This is incredible — what is going to happen here over time. I can’t thank Senator Gudger enough for what he’s been able to accomplish for us, and I am very grateful for the partnership with Dr. Sutton and the Marion County School System to be able to offer this life-changing academy for our youth."
Josh Weatherly, career tech director for Marion County Schools/Marion County Career Academy, also expressed his gratitude to everyone who made Thursday’s grant announcement possible.
“The Marion County Career Academy represents an incredible opportunity for our students to explore careers and prepare for their future while they’re still in high school,” Weatherly said. “There are a lot of people who have played a role in getting us to today, and we’re grateful for every person and organization that has invested in the Marion County Career Academy, and, more importantly, the future of our students.”
Senator Gudger called the announcement “economic development at its finest.”
“We’ve done something that has made history because it’s the largest grant in the history of Marion County Schools. That is $12.5 million for our community,” Gudger said, adding that the amount is closer to a total of $18.5 million invested in the academy, due to funding that was given to the junior college system for help with facility renovations.
Gudger said the project has been a year and a half in the making, and seeing the Marion County Career Academy come to fruition was one of his goals for the district.
Gudger also took a moment to recognize Representative-elect Phil Segraves, House District 17, for being in attendance, and Ryan Hollingsworth, a former Marion County Schools Superintendent and retired executive director of the Alabama Association of School Superintendents.
 He said Hollingsworth was instrumental in helping to secure the grant for the career academy.
“We worked on it because we knew what this could mean for Marion County. This is an investment in the future of the people of Marion County and this entire region. I’m especially proud to see a seamless partnership between the school system and the community college system,” he said. “This is what career tech should to look like. Our students should be able to learn a skill, earn a credential, and go straight into a good-paying job right here close to home. This investment will train our workforce for the jobs that we have today and the jobs we want to bring here in the future. It gives our young people another reason to stay in Marion County, raise their families here, and build lives here.”
Gudger concluded, “This is what happens when Marion County speaks with one voice. Rural Alabama shouldn’t have to settle for less because we’re rural Alabama. Our kids deserve the same opportunities as every child anywhere else in this state. Today, we’re putting $12.5 million into that belief and really about $18 million toward that belief. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and I’m even more excited about what the young people who walk through the doors of this program are going to accomplish.”