NORTHAMPTON — Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School has received a $5 million grant from the state, part of which will go toward building its new horticultural building after the previous one burned down in a fire last May.
The grant, known as the Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant, was created in 2015 under Gov. Charlie Baker to increase the number of skilled workers in the state in order to meet the job requirements of today’s professions. Smith Vocational had previously received a $2 million grant from the same program in September to expand its horticulture and animal science program.
SVAHS Superintendent Andrew Linkenhoker said around 70% of the new grant, or $3.5 million, would help fund construction of the new agricultural building, while the remaining $1.5 million would go toward new equipment for the school.
“The big change in this particular grant is that a portion of the grant could be applied to actual facilities upgrades, where in the past all of these grants were only marked for equipment,” Linkenhoker said.
Linkenhoker said that the horticulture building is planned to be completed by the start of the fall semester for 2024. It will contain new equipment and a more sustainable design plan such as improved insulation infrastructure, but will remain approximately the same size as the previous structure.
The previous horticulture building, which housed the school’s forestry education program, burned down last spring after a riding mower’s exhaust came into contact with combustible materials. The school elected to demolish what remained after the fire and build a new building in its stead.
Much of the new equipment the grant is expected to pay for will also go toward horticulture, such as a compact utility tractor, log splitters and leaf blowers. It also includes equipment for advanced manufacturing, such as a tool presetter and a saw surface grinder.
Linkenhoker said some that equipment will replace some of the old equipment lost in the fire, but others are meant to be new additions to the program.
“The last grant we received in September, the majority of that grant went to replacement of equipment that we lost,” he said. “[This grant] is increasing the access to our current technology for our students, back to the philosophy of the grant.”
In addition to the grant, the school has secured an additional $275,000 in funding from an economic bond bill passed by the state.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
