PRESTONSBURG — The Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center in Prestonsburg is not closing.

That was the main point driven home by Center Director Thomas Rainey during a meeting of the Community Relations Council on Tuesday.

“A little over six months ago, we were in a state of change,” Rainey said. “We were really struggling. As a center, we were ranked 102 out of 122 centers in the nation. We’ve made a lot of progress since then. In January, we were ranked 72.”

Rainey said that he was recently approached by someone who told him that they had heard that the Prestonsburg center had lost its funding, and Rainey wanted to set the record straight.

“One of the main things that I want to do is dispel the rumor that we have lost our funding,” Rainey said. “As of right now, we are fine. We are a contractor, and every five years the Job Corps is put out for bid. We are at the end of the fifth year, and seven contractors have put in bids. We have a lot of support from the community, and I think we will keep the contract. There are a lot of good things happening.”

Rainey also talked about the rising percentage of students from Eastern Kentucky that are taking advantage of what the center has to offer.

“There are plenty of students from our area that can benefit from the Job Corps,” Rainey said. “Right now, 60 percent of our student body are from Eastern Kentucky.”

While the Job Corps Center offers various classes with specific focus on vocations, students are also able to attend Big Sandy Community and Technical College. Currently, 80 students from the Job Corps are enrolled at the college.

The Job Corps receives its rankings monthly, with the next score to be released in March.