HOPE — Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School is preparing to debut its newly-renovated agriculture facility, a total re-do on a building that had been essentially untouched for more than 50 years.
Hauser ag teacher and FFA adviser Aleesa Dickerson said the building had some new paint and a new air handling unit prior to the renovation, but the latest makeover has totally transformed the 10,000-square foot facility.
Previously, the building was laid out to have two classrooms and two shop areas. It now includes a welcome center, an animal science lab with a fully-equipped kitchen, an ag powers classroom, a conference and meeting room, a staff office, new restrooms, a small animal room adjacent to the greenhouse and a large collaborative shop space complete with a new welding lab.
The total cost of the renovation project was $1,623,413, said Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. Superintendent Shawn Price. The figure includes furnishings and about $1.4 million in renovations.
“Really, there isn’t anything here that is original except for the exterior walls,” said Price. “Even the exterior doors are changed out, modified. The greenhouse is part of the project that wasn’t really touched, because it had been updated through a grant just a few years ago. But everything inside, none of these classrooms existed.”
For more on this story, including more photos, see Thursday’s Republic.
