There are no "gender classes" at the high school level anywhere, that's a myth peddled by the Right to drum up fear among their base.

In terms of what they would supposedly take instead, it's probably STEM related. A lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum have been pushing STEM in schools for a long time to the detriment of the arts and humanities, because it's seen as a more directly profitable skillset. What you lose, of course, is a well-rounded education, though many people don't seem to care.

I'm in a similar spot - overseas at the moment, voting district in Erie (also a crucial county), ordered the ballot in early October and just got it last week, which was obviously too late for it to get from Iceland back to the elections office in Erie in time. As far as I know, there's nothing you can do about it except grumble. Maybe find a friend who wasn't planning on voting and get them to vote as a favor to you. That's all I can think of.