VIDALIA &8212; It may be last minute, but administrators at Vidalia High School still think $75,830 is reason to celebrate.

The school received notification late last week that they will receive funding from the state and federal government to continue High School Redesign programs they started last year. In June, they were told the money wouldn&8217;t be coming.

&8220;I think they realized one year wasn&8217;t enough,&8221; Principal Rick Brown said Monday. &8220;It really wasn&8217;t fair to go in there and start something and expect us to show improvement without contributing again.&8221;

Last year, VHS was chosen as one of eight pilot schools in the state to model a new way of teaching high school. The program bases its curriculum on the idea that high school should be preparation for life, not just for college.

College-bound students take harder classes, but other teens have the chance to learn a vocation or get extra remediation.

About $130,000 in grant funds last year paid for vocational-technology classes at the technical college in Ferriday, online college courses and some administrative changes. The school day went from seven periods to six slightly longer ones. And ninth-graders in need of extra help took more intensive reading and math classes.

Since there is less money this year, some things will be scaled back, Brown said. But the vo-tech classes will stay.

&8220;The kids were encouraged by (vo-tech experiences),&8221; Brown said. &8220;They enjoyed it and it gave some of them an idea of what they can do in life.&8221;

Nine students took classes to become a Certified Nurse Assistant last year and three took welding classes.

&8220;I was proud to stand up at graduation and say we had this many CNA and welding graduates,&8221; Assistant Principal Jana Linceum said. &8220;Anything that gives them an opportunity to do something they wouldn&8217;t have done before I&8217;m elated about.&8221;

Brown said he is hoping for a higher vo-tech enrollment this year, and plans to have some students in an air conditioning repair course.

Seniors interested in the programs will sign up during the first week of school.

&8220;We will have to move pretty quick to make sure they get the hours in,&8221; Brown said. &8220;The problem with this is going to be when they let us know (about the money).&8221;

The six-period day will stay. And new ninth-graders will again have the chance to take special reading and math classes.

But all eyes are on the 10th-graders, Brown said. They were the first class affected by redesign, and their progress is important.

&8220;The telltale for us will be last year&8217;s ninth-graders,&8221; he said. &8220;It&8217;ll be a better barometer than what we have now.&8221;

The school still has a chance to receive additional grant dollars, possibly another $75,000, but those dollars will come later.

In June VHS and the Concordia Parish School Board were making plans to find alternate dollars to fund vocational programs, but money would have been tight, Brown said.

Now, with outside dollars coming in, the school board can use their funds to implement similar programs at Ferriday High School and Monterey High School, Brown said. The district has plans for both schools to implement redesign in the future too.