Barton Community College hopes to build a $3.7 million facility on land east of the campus (behind Community Christian Church at 253 NE 30 Road) for an Agriculture Complex and to expand several vocational programs. According to Lindsey Bogner, executive director of the Barton Community College Foundation, tax credits of 60% for this capital improvement project will soon be available.
According to information from the college:
“Barton Community College has been awarded a 1:1 matching grant, totaling $1,843,594, to construct an Agriculture, Farm Machinery, and Transportation Technology Complex to co-locate high-wage, high-demand programs including Agriculture Business Management, Crop Protection, Beef Cattle Production, and Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), in addition to housing the anticipated Case New Holland (CNH) Top Tech Industrial Service Training program to train ag mechanic technicians to enter the workforce." (More about that later.)
"The facility will include three classrooms, three dedicated shop spaces, CDL vehicle and equipment storage, corrals, instructor offices, loading dock, and a CDL testing area. Estimated cost for the project is $3,687,188.”
Tax credit information
The state of Kansas has approved $5 million in Community and Technical Colleges Capital Improvement Tax Credits, to be split among community and technical colleges across the state, first-come, first-serve, up to a maximum of $500,000 per school.
Contributions should be pledged quickly, Bogner explained. Since they are first-come, first-served once the web portal opens on July 1, Barton will enter its contributions as soon as possible.
“They’re going to go very fast,” she predicted. Interested donors may contact Lindsey Bogner for more information or to make a contribution; email bognerl@bartonccc.edu or call 620-786-1141.
There are some eligibility requirements, including a minimum donation of $1,000 and a maximum tax credit of $250,000 (for a total contribution of $416,666 or more).
Case New Holland training
The tax credits and the new facility were discussed Tuesday at the Barton Community College’s Board of Trustees study session. The board also heard plans to expand the Case New Holland training program in 2023. In this proposed program, individuals will no longer have to be CNH employees to enroll in its training programs at BCC.
The proposal was outlined in a report from Dr. Kathy Kottas, Dean of Workforce Training and Community Education; Mary Foley, executive director of Workforce Training and Economic Development; and Mark Bogner, Case New Holland instructor. The report notes that the college has a long-standing partnership with CNH to train technicians who are currently employed with a company dealership. The expanded program would provide dealerships with more trained individuals to hire.
According to the Kansas Occupational Outlook, the need for farm equipment mechanics will increase by 8.9% over the next 10 years, their report states. The median salary now is $37,270.
