Now that the official groundbreaking has been done at the site of the new Greene County High School/Career Academy, there are two groups waiting to start moving dirt.
The first group will prepare the construction site.
The second group will do on the southeast 22 acres of the 80-acre property what’s been done there for decades. They’ll plant crops.High school ag students Grant Custer, Cole Betts, Jacob Hunter, Quinten Schroeder and Mitchell Anthofer presented information about the Greene County agronomy project at the April 17 school board meeting. Garrett Tasler is also part of the project but couldn’t attend the meeting.
The group named its primary goals: to establish a hands-on learning experience for students in the agronomy class and other agriculture classes at the high school; to create connections with the agricultural community around the county; and to establish a financial asset to grow the FFA chapter.
The students were given seed corn by various seed dealers. They’ve researched the characteristics of each type of seed to determine what other inputs will be needed. They prepared two different cash flow projections as requested by the board. A “real life” projection lists the full cost of all their inputs and the going rate for renting land; the other lists only what they’ll actually pay after donations and the reduced rate of $100/acre for land rent. Total projected cost is $7,600.
They estimated an average yield of 200 bushels on their 22 acres and a market price of $3.50/bu. The “real world” projection shows $15,400 in gross income, $14,886 in expenses, and a net income of $504. The actual projection shows expenses of $7,580 after donations and a net income of $7,810.
The students have ideas for how to spend future proceeds from their farming operation. They’d like to have financial status. They’d like to be ready to invest in other land when what they’re farming now is eventually developed as athletic facilities. They’d like to invest in a barn so they can have cattle, and a smaller building for “a couple of calves, and maybe some goats or chickens.” They’d like to be sure there’s a back up generator for the heaters on the aquaculture tanks, and finally, they’d like to ensure there will be a hands-on learning environment at the school.
Jefferson-Scranton graduate/banker/farmer Tanner Lawton helped the group in their planning. “They’ve done a lot in a short time. When we talked about them putting this together in a month’s time, they’ve literally done what farmers do over the winter,” Lawton said, and called their efforts “exciting.”
The board also heard proposed summer projects to be paid for with PPEL (physical plant and equipment levy) funds. The district will spend $115,234 on technology upgrades, with all but about $44,000 of that being at the elementary school. That $44,000 will be used to replace teacher/administrators Chromebooks and cases.
The school will purchase a new 65-passenger bus at a cost of $86,000 and a new Suburban at a cost of $40,000.
The heat pump at the elementary school will be upgraded, and some rooftop HVAC units at the high school may be replaced.
The board approved the second reading of a new board policy to allow assistance animals in school buildings and an update of the current policy on animals in classrooms. The policies were put in place to comply with the Americans with Disability Act. The matter was discussed at the regular March meeting after a request by student Conner Allender, who is training a dog for the Puppy Jake Foundation.
