You see, Vo-Tech programs are expensive. They require durable machinery and tools, a continual flow of materials, smaller class sizes to limit liability, and qualified individuals whose skills are in demand in their communities. This means that schools often end up cutting these sorts of programs first as funding gets tighter and tighter--a trend that has continued as education has received funding well below the rate of inflation for the past several decades around the nation (not to mention outright cuts).
Also, the above messages seem to suggest that schools and teachers are the bad guys. I have not yet worked at a school that says college is for everyone; instead, we want to make certain that any student who wants to go to college will not be denied the opportunity. In all of the schools I have worked, the teachers are often the ones who most lament the lack of shop classes.
Yet the people complaining the most out in the communities are the very same people who vote for candidates who have limited educational funding--forcing schools to make those painful choices. I'm deeply impressed with our administration at SoHi who have done the financial gymnastics necessary to maintain and build our trade offerings. They certainly do not get the credit that they deserve for keeping and even expanding our students' opportunities.