News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Upperman High School exploring its options on how to best build a barn with money awarded through the Innovative School Models Grant.
The grant awarded the school $100,000 for the barn to be spent within three years of receiving the grant. CTE Supervisor Jackie Vester said the school is looking at what structures would be the most feasible with their budget.
“Just like any other project, we may want to shoot for the moon,” Vester said. “But because of cost, we have to look at how we can spend that money and still meet the goals of having a livestock learning lab.”
Vester said because of the cost of the materials and upkeep, the school may elect to start smaller and build from there. Vester said considerations include the location of the barn on the side of the school and ensuring it would be accessible for all.
“Realistically I think that we’re looking at a pool-barn,” Vester said. “That would basically be a covering for livestock where they could be held or they could be brought for demonstrations that day. Students could bring their livestock for demonstrations that day, but I think that would be the most realistic.”
Only 10 percent of the grant funds can be used on the barn. Vester said that limits what officials might otherwise want. Vester said Upperman officials are still looking at options on how to best cost-efficiently construct the barn.
“It would be great if we could ever get to the point where we had an outside lab space and we had an area for animals to stay more permanently,” Vester said.
