MPCSD Board approves green house construction

MT. PLEASANT — With the recent approval by the school board to construct a new agriculture education greenhouse, instruction at Mt. Pleasant Community High School is set to expand and provide students with more hands-on opportunities year-round.

The project, funded through a donation from ContiTech, was presented by FFA and Agriculture Education Instructor Ethan Faeth to the district’s site committee ahead of the board meeting on Sept. 8 and garnered support for approval, according to MPCSD Board Vice President Derek Mullin.

“A hardsided greenhouse is what [Ethan Faeth] and two students presented at the site committee,” Mullin said. “The approximately $100,000 includes some site prep concrete.”

Superintendent John Henriksen told the board the greenhouse will give Mt. Pleasant students more opportunities to learn through agriculture.

“The greenhouse is going to be such a great addition to our curriculum,” Henriksen said. “It allows year-round the ability to grow. It’s an opportunity for kids, as Ethan mentioned, kids who don’t have facilities to really handle a supervised agriculture experience. The greenhouse is going to be a great place to do that.”

Plans for the green house show the structure measuring 24 by 48 feet. The structure will be made of polycarbonate hard siding instead of thin plastic, and include an updated heating and watering system with technology integration. It will be built behind the high school, near the existing garden shed and plot.

“The … total material costs [are] around … $72,200 with site prep and concrete slab foundation around $30,000,” Henriksen said.

He added that funds also will “leave a little bit for any equipment that they … need to outfit it as well.”

Board member Melinda Huisinga mentioned Faeth’s intention of using the space as a classroom, as well.

Henriksen confirmed the design would support that vision.

“We wanted to make sure that … you could hold a classroom out there, do instruction out there,” he said. “And so, all of that has been planned for.”

The project, board members said, reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen career and technical education. Henriksen noted that the greenhouse will give students real-world experience while also serving as an extension of the classroom.

Board member Mike Hampton made the motion to approve the greenhouse, seconded by Mark Overberg, and the vote passed without opposition.

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