UC’s Hunter Mooney named Student of the Month at ECTS

By Mary Ann Mook

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A Union City student was recognized during a recent update to the Union City School Board.

At the board’s Feb. 12 meeting, board member Stephen Gilbert, liaison to the Erie County Technical School Joint Operating Committee, reported that Hunter Mooney of Union City was named Student of the Month for December. Mooney is enrolled in the Tourism and Hospitality program at the Erie County Technical School.

Gilbert also reported that the proposed 2026-27 budget for Erie County Technical School is $9.5 million. The school is requesting, on average, about a 10% increase from participating districts. Union City’s projected increase is about 8% per student.

Erie County Technical School will host a Board of 99 Luncheon at noon Feb. 26. All sitting board members and administrators are invited to attend the lunch, meeting and tour of the renovated building.

Gilbert said a solar power project is currently in the permit phase with Summit Township, with ground expected to be broken in April. The project calls for installation of a 1,500-kilowatt solar array, funded in part by a $400,000 grant through Pennsylvania’s Solar for Schools Program.

The school has three laboratories in the “alarm window,” with 13 of 20 labs at 100% capacity. The remaining three labs are more than 93% full.

Projected enrollment for the 2026-27 school year could reach 1,113 students, Gilbert said.

“We have had 604 first-year applications so far,” Gilbert said. “We also have 210 kids out of 604 on a waiting list for their first choice.”

As of Jan. 22, enrollment at Erie County Technical School was 961 students, including 71 from Union City. An additional 32 students are enrolled in the transition center.