Hugh Carter, the director of performance and programming at the Kansas Department of Commerce, speaks at the 10th birthday celebration of Peaslee Tech. Carter was fundamental in helping create the school when he worked for the Lawrence chamber of commerce.

As Peaslee Tech celebrated its 10th birthday on Thursday with a host of speakers reflecting on the founding of the school, leaders hope it can continue to grow and become more self-sufficient while providing new training opportunities for workers.

The school, which first opened its doors to students back in 2015, was a part of a larger group effort of multiple government and other civic groups coming together to create a training center after a German manufacturing business passed over development in Lawrence in 2013.

Hugh Carter, who is now the director of performance and programming at the Kansas Department of Commerce, was working at the Lawrence chamber of commerce when Peaslee was getting off the ground in 2014. He said that in its first semester, Peaslee taught 150 students. Now, the school is at 20 times the enrollment, something that he said was “unbelievable.”

Now, the school is focusing on expanding even further and becoming more self-sustaining with its funding sources, said Peaslee Tech CEO Kevin Kelley.

The center is making significant strides on that front, he said: in 2015, Peaslee received 95% of its funding from local governments, but this past year, only 28% of its funding came from local governments.

For the 2025 proposed budget, the school would receive a total of $618,000 from Douglas County and the City of Lawrence, with $400,000 coming from the county and $218,000 from the city, Kelley said.

Back in 2020, Peaslee Tech had explored plans of seeking permission from the state Legislature to ask Douglas County voters to approve a new taxing district that would allow the school to begin collecting property taxes to fund its operations. But now, Kelley said the school does not have plans to use that route.

Kelley said the school’s goal for 2026 was to help train 45% of Douglas County-based companies that employed over 100 people. The school is currently working with 83% of those companies and looking to add new programs as demand for certain skills, like commercial solar training, increases.

Kelley said the school is also working on creating more programs that can allow high school seniors to start working in an apprenticeship that can also give them school credit to help them earn a diploma. That way, a full-time job can be available to them after graduation.

Although the University of Kansas has a huge economic impact on the city and the region, Kelley said Peaslee is different because it often works with people already in the community. While KU graduates often end up leaving Lawrence or come from different parts of the country, Kelley said students or employees who learn new skills keep those skills in the area. That type of work adds a huge economic impact for the county.

“The people that come here to gain these skills are from here and stay here while making higher wages,” Kelley said.