Three years after receiving a donation of $900,000 and a series
of others to build a new agricultural barn, San Benito High School
is finally starting to see the pieces come together.
Three years after receiving a donation of $900,000 and a series of others to build a new agricultural barn, San Benito High School is finally starting to see the pieces come together.
Behind the main campus adjacent to Andy Hardin Field stands a metal skeleton of a building. Towering over everything around it, it is slowly starting to take form.
Cement covers the building’s 14,500 square feet. Large, metal pillars are erected over the ground – providing the framework for the building. And supplies line the grass and dirt beside the building.
“It’s a big puzzle that is finally starting to take shape,” maintenance official Rob Zimmerman said.
Despite a couple of weeks of cold and rain, the building is closing in on its masonry after framing started in October. The building is expected to be finished by April, and will host classes and San Benito High’s Future Farmers of America students as soon as next year.
“We haven’t had a facility for some time,” FFA adviser Kelly Bianchi said. “This will change the scope of what the kids can do.”
Funding sources included the $900,000 donation from the Rajkovich family and money from the state and district through Career and Technology Education. Details on each funding source were not available Director of Finance Debbie Fisher before press time.
When Martin Rajkovich passed away in 2007, though, he left $900,000 to the FFA in hopes of building a new-and-improved barn. Rajkovich and his brother, George, came to the area in the 1950s to farm – and they both wanted to see the ag tradition stay with future generations of Hollister residents, George Rajkovich said.
“It will be a good and safe place to study and enjoy agricultural,” he said. “It will be a safe environment and will help the future generations of young kids to learn more about agricultural.”
But its effect on the students will have to wait until next year.
“I’m happy to see it progressing after three years on the drawing table,” Rajkovich said. “I’m happy to see it come to fruition.”
The site of the new FFA barn is the same as the old building, which was torn down in May of 2009, after the district received the funding and donations for a new-and-improved building. The old farm was built in 1959, and was around for nearly 50 years before it was torn down to start the construction of the new building.
Construction started in September 2010, after designs were finally approved by the state, Zimmerman said. Workers laid the foundation and quickly started to build the metal frame.
For the full story, pick up a copy of the Free Lance on Tuesday.
