By Laura Mazur
Community Post
Money and planning may be the key ingredients to getting a vocational agriculture program back at Marion Local Schools.

Concerned citizens and administrators of Marion Local Schools converged together on Monday night to learn what it takes to restart the district’s program.
Brad Moffit, an Ohio Department of Education Supervisor Specialist, spoke to the group at Zahn-Marion Township Library to tell what can be done for the possible future of such a program.
“Agriculture is Ohio’s economy,” said Moffit. “I want strong programs in small, rural schools.”
Moffit spoke of a variety of specialized courses that would be involved in such a program. These include food, horticulture, animals, engineering and mechanical, environmental science and agri-business and production systems.
“I don’t think it’s disputable that this is a top notch agricultural community,” said Mark Hardesty, chairman of the Marion Community Development Organization Agriculture Committee, which is blazing the campaign trail for the program. “It’s in the realm of possibilities [for restarting the program].”
The MCDO has been working with community members for the past three to five years to harbor interest in restarting the district’s program, which originally ran from the 1960s to 1992.
Dan Fullenkamp, a Maria Stein resident who was involved in the former program, said he enjoyed the parliamentary procedure part of the agricultural program and feels students are missing out.
“They’re missing out on interaction with different people and different cultures,” said Fullenkamp.
The ODE specialist also spoke of new agricultural education standards in Ohio, which are based on industry and post-secondary needs. Many times, agriculture teachers are also certified in science curriculum so as to teach agriculture classes, thus giving students science credits on their transcripts. Credit for courses is a decision of the local school boards, however.
Moffit recommended the 2009-2010 school year as a kick-off for a restart of the program and any planning for the up until that time would have to start as soon as possible, beginning with an advisory committee and getting these people together with the local board of education to speak on interest and logistics.
“There has been a lot of great ideas and information from this meeting,” said Marion Local Superintendent Carl Metzger. “Based on what we heard tonight, it would be a good thing for Marion Local and I look forward to the future of a possible program.”
Metzger said that based on the district’s current five-year forecast, though, the budget is tight for starting an additional program than what the schools offer.
A salary range for a vo-ag teacher comes in at approximately $50,000 per year, in addition to other program costs that may be needed. Moffit cited a complete program would most likely include components of a lab, FFA and a supervised hands-on experience in the field. Metzger said that depending on how credits would be offered, the current offerings would need to stay in tact.
Facilities would also need to be accommodated. Where the vo-ag program once shared space at the high school is now taken over by an industrial arts program, taught by Keith Westrick, involving metal and wood shop, as well as computer aided drafting and design. This particular program has even become quite popular with students in recent years, according to Metzger, but he relents that the restart of a vo-ag program would be a positive step.
“This is something that would be good for the kids,” he said.
The newly formed advisory committee’s next step is to meet with the district’s board of education, as well as visit area schools like Jackson Center and Buckeye Central, who recently restarted their programs, to look at what is involved in a new program.