Barton Community College has been awarded a contract to serve as a CDL test site. The contract is with the Kansas Department of Revenue. Additional staff training will begin soon and logistics will be finalized in the coming months.
Having the ability to test will allow Barton Community College to complete all aspects of Commercial Driver’s License training on-site.
Executive Director of Workforce Training and Economic Development Mary Foley said the contract is beneficial for students and area businesses.
“Students will no longer have to travel to an alternate testing site to complete the driving test,” she said. “The community of Great Bend and the surrounding towns will also have the benefit of having a local test site. Businesses with employees needing their CDL for their job will no longer be a need to drive over an hour to test, which will get employees back to work more quickly.”
Barton will provide testing for Barton students only at first, and will expand opportunities to others seeking their CDL that just need a testing site in the coming months. The program started in May 2015 and has been very popular. There is currently a waiting list to get into the class.
Foley said they would like to get a new truck so more students can be served but need to secure funding first.
All funding for the program came from the Barton Community College Foundation, primarily from the William C. Wells Trust plus additional funding from the Central Prairie Co-op and the Land O’Lakes Foundation.
For more information, contact Executive Director of Workforce Training and Economic Development Mary Foley at foleym@bartonccc.edu or (620)792-9278.