June 16, 2022
Story by Joe Vinduska & Lindsey Bogner
Photo by Joe Vinduska
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.
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.
In addition to the award, 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 served, up to a maximum of $500,000 per school.
Barton Foundation Director Lindsey Bogner said these will likely sell out very quickly.
“I urge anyone who is interested to contact me as soon as possible,” she said. “We are looking for donors that would like to purchase these 60 percent tax credits; the minimum donation is $1,000, and the max is $416,666. It’s a win-win for our donors and for the college because tax credits allow a donor to support a project like ours, while lowering their Kansas state tax burden - for example, if you give $1,000, you get a $600 credit on your state taxes.”
For more information contact Bogner at bognerl@bartonccc.edu or (620) 786-1141 or visit bartonccfoundation.org.