Atlanta area community college wins $2 million for commercial driver program

An Atlanta metro area community college won $2 million in state funds for its commercial truck driving program.

According to a release from Georgia Piedmont Technical College, the funds from the Georgia Emergency Education Relief Fund will be used to expand the college’s training program for commercial drivers.

For the program, the GEER II funds will pay for a project to build a new commercial truck driving range in Covington, Ga.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

GPTC said the funds will be used for the driving range and pad, as well as trailers.

A release on the funding allocation by the office of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said GPTC is one of six schools getting funds for driving programs, with a collective total of $8.32 allocated for CDL training.

The funding is split between:

  • Savannah Technical College - $1,990,000 for driving pad and trailers

  • Georgia Piedmont Technical College - $2,000,000 for driving range and pad, and trailers

  • Oconee Fall Line Technical College - $1,150,000 for driving pad and simulators

  • Columbus Technical College - $1,770,000 for driving pad, mobile classroom, trailers, and simulators

  • Southern Crescent Technical College - $1,132,500 for driving range and pad resurfacing, mobile classroom, and trailers

  • Southeastern Technical College - $275,000 for driving range and pad resurfacing

Overall, GEER II funding, part of a funding effort to assist Georgia K-12 and higher education in post-pandemic recovery, was doled out to the tune of $47 million for the most recent round.

While the funds were first announced in January 2022, GPTC held the groundbreaking for the driving range Wednesday at their Newton County campus.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]