Suffolk Public Schools wants to add 10 new career and technical education classes and adjust five other courses in the 2019-2020 school year, according to a proposal the School Board is scheduled to consider at its Thursday meeting.

The justification for the new classes centers on local, regional and statewide job opportunities in those areas, according to documentation provided to the School Board.

The new classes would include:

Game Design and Development

Game Design and Development, Advanced

Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Barbering I

Barbering II

Electricity I

Electricity II

Utility/Heavy Construction II

Medical Assistant I

Medical Assistant II

Five other classes — Utility/Heavy Construction I, IB Mathematics II, IB Math Studies Standard Level 11, IB Mathematics 12 and IB Math Studies Standard Level 12 — are slated to be adjusted.

The change to the Utility/Heavy Construction class will alter the number of credits from three to 1.5, and adding a prerequisite that students having a driver’s license or permit is strongly recommended. The changes to the class are due to changes in the high school schedule to allow more students to take classes at the College and Career Academy at Pruden and finish in one year.

The changes to the IB math classes at King’s Fork High School are due to International Baccalaureate’s alterations of its math curriculum.

The School Board will also consider approving a lease for The Children’s Center to use a classroom and playground space at Booker T. Washington Elementary School for a preschool that would primarily serve children in Suffolk.

According to the proposed lease agreement, it would begin Sept. 1, 2020, and end Aug. 31, 2021, with automatic renewal proposed unless notice is given by either the School Board or the Children’s Center. The lease would cost The Children’s Center $840 per month.

The Children’s Center has eight locations, of which three are in Suffolk — the Suffolk Children’s Center at 300 Executive Court, the Suffolk Head Start Center at 860 Davis Blvd. and The Children’s Center at Pruden, at 4169 Pruden Blvd.

The School Board meeting begins at 5 p.m. in the City Council chambers at Suffolk City Hall, 442 W. Washington St. It is scheduled to go into a closed session before a presentation of honor graduates from Nansemond River High School begins at 6 p.m. The public meeting will begin at 7 p.m.