Maconaquah Middle school students in John Sinnamon's class work with the cattle behind the school on Aug. 5, 2019. These cows along with 10 others will become their lunches in the future. Natalie Wiggs and Riley Bucher move a food trough so they can feed the animals. Staff photo by Tim Bath | Kokomo Tribune
BUNKER HILL – Maconaquah School Corporation is set to spend $2 million to expand its agricultural programs, including a major renovation project and purchasing 47 acres of cropland and woods.
The Maconaquah School Board this month approved the $2 million bond project that administrators say will help facilitate the expansion of the district’s ag programs to now include kindergarten-through-12th grade students.
A portion of the funding will be used to renovate the ag shop at the high school, including new heating, ventilation and air conditioning units, fresh paint, and a new garage door.
The high school ag department will also partner with the district’s new construction trades program to build a greenhouse and small animal shelter to replace the greenhouse that was demolished several years ago.
“I’m excited for the remodel and what it might provide for the students in the realm of more hands on experience in learning,” said Dawn Baker, high school agriculture teacher. “I believe this is a great opportunity to continue to advance and grow our program.”
The school corporation will also use the bond money to purchase 47 acres of land that includes pasture, hay, row crops and a wooded nature center. Administrators say the row crop and pasture land will fit well into the established animal science and plant science programs at the high school and middle school.
The project comes after the district has rapidly grown its agricultural programs in the last six years.
In 2014, the corporation started the Maconaquah Cattle Co., a program that provides hands-on learning for students through initiatives like feeding out several cattle and taking them to be processed for meat that is served in school lunches.
Students also helped design the pole barn and pasture areas for the program, which is located in the middle of the school’s campus.
In 2018, Maconaquah was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase and lease land and equipment to make handling animals safer for students and staff. Additional livestock were also purchased to expand the breeding stock, along with pork for use in the cafeteria.
In 2019, the school was awarded another grant from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, which supported the purchase of artificial insemination supplies to educate students on cattle reproduction through both classroom learning and hands-on experience.
Now, the $2 million bond project represents the largest expansion of the district’s ag program since it started.
Superintendent James Callane said students and staff have put countless hours into fundraising, publicizing, mapping out and constructing the blue prints for the program, and the new projects will take it even further.
“This is a project that we foresee having a big and positive impact on our community for years to come, and we are so grateful for all of the hands at work,” he said in a release.
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