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Letters

AgEd is a Vital Program

I have been attending recent Regional 7 Board of Education meetings where the 2016-17 budget has been discussed, and I am very concerned. The board is proposing the elimination of one certified teacher position, and, while not officially announced, there is talk that this instructor may be cut from the Vocational Agriculture (AgEd) program.

AgEd is the only program at Regional 7 that is able to reach out and pull in students from other districts. It is a viable and highly active program that attracts students from the whole spectrum of agriculture education including but not limited to plant science, animal science, natural resources, forestry, mechanics, business management, and leadership. In 2015-16 the AgEd program at Regional generated tuition revenue of $382,088 from out-of-district students. The proposed 2016-17 budget projects this revenue to increase to 402,557. The program is clearly growing.

Students who graduate from the AgEd program at Regional 7 are well prepared for college with many students going on to degrees in areas such as botany, chemistry, conservation, forestry, veterinary science and business management. The students who do not wish to pursue a college degree are prepared well by the Ag program for obtaining employment as mechanics, farmers, foresters and skilled laborers, using the training they received in the AgEd program. It has been in the news that business owners are unable to find skilled workers. The skilled workers they do have are coming out of programs such as AgEd.

All students, whether on college track or not, benefit from the FFA Chapter that is a part of the AgEd program. FFA members are trained in public speaking, Roberts Rules of Order and debating, among other skills. These lead to increased self-confidence and the ability to shine in the public eye. These are important qualities for our future leaders, who will serve on our local boards and commission and may even go on to national office. FFA prepares our students well.

Several years ago, a fourth teacher was hired for the AgEd Department. Right now there are more students enrolled in the program than there were when this teacher was hired. I don’t feel we should be cutting this program because it has the potential to generate a revenue stream. To cut a teacher would stifle the ability of this program to provide the quality program now being run. Most people don’t know the untold unpaid hours these teachers put into the Ag program. You will find them after hours working with the community on the plant sale or at the school in the middle of the night helping a goat to deliver her babies. There are no set hours for AgEd work.

If a cut needs to be made, I encourage our Region 7 Board of Education members to take a closer look at the top-heavy administration in the school as a whole. The teachers are in the trenches with the kids where they need to be. The administrators are needed as well, but one cut there would make a much deeper cut in the budget and save even more money than cutting a teacher.

Concerned taxpayers need to write letters or emails in support of the Ag Ed program, to the superintendent as well as our Regional Board of Education representatives, Don Torrant (dtorrantBOE@nwr7.org) and Deb Bell (dbellBOE@nwr7.org). I also encourage all voters in the Region 7 area to come out to the Regional 7 Budget Hearing on April 18 to hear the full budget and to speak in support of the Vocational Agriculture Program. The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. in the Little Theater at Regional.

Henry Gundlach

The writer is chairman of the Agricultural Education Consulting Committee at Northwestern Regional 7. He is also a local businessman, the owner of South Norfolk Lumber Company.