Given the spectacular failure of the Obamacare website, parents of school-age children should be concerned about the President’s newest project.

And given the budget crisis, the price-tag for this program should concern all Americans.

President Barack Obama will unveil a $100 million competition Tuesday aimed at finding new ways to better prepare high-school students for the global high-tech economy, a senior administration official said.

The program, Youth CareerConnect, would award 25 to 40 grants next year for high schools to team up with higher-education institutions and employers, creating innovative programs that give students industry-relevant education and job skills. Grants would range from $2 million to $7 million and applicants would be required to pony up matching funds of at least 25%.

The administration seeks to emulate promising local overhauls, such as New York City’s P-Tech, a six-year high school where students earn a diploma and an associate’s degree. It is a joint effort between International Business Machines Corp., the city’s Department of Education and the City University of New York.

The new program, to be funded through Department of Labor discretionary funds, will be announced at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council annual meeting, people familiar with the matter said.

It comes as part of a broader push announced earlier this year to redesign U.S. secondary schools and help bolster the economy.

The new competition is modeled after the $4.35 billion Race to the Top initiative, which prodded dozens of states to link teacher evaluations to student test scores and adopt the Common Core math and reading standards. White House officials hope the high-school redesign efforts will prompt a wave of local overhauls.

Critics have said competitive programs are unfair because they play favorites and reward local schools for adopting policies favored by the administration.