Kaneland ag club's farming raises cash for bus

Good soybean and corn prices mean a Kaneland High School club can afford to transport its members to activities in an economical manner.

The Kaneland school board Monday gave the FFA agricultural leadership and education club permission to investigate leasing a 14-passenger bus. The club — formerly the Future Farmers of America — proposes to lease one for three years.

The club will pay for the lease and the fuel. Maintenance will be done by auto technology students at the Fox Valley Career Center, which is housed at Kaneland.

And, when it isn't using the bus, it will offer it to other teams and clubs at the school, as long as it has the mileage available to do so. The lease would include 15,000 miles a year.

The club proposed leasing a bus because it now uses a district bus to transport a handful of students or parents have to drive them, according to a memo from Laura Widhalm, the club's adviser and a horticultural and agricultural science teacher at the school. The club travels to regional and state meetings, conventions and contests. Not every member attends every event; sometimes, only two or three members are on a team in a contest, such as the dairy team or livestock team.

The club, which has about two dozen members, makes money by farming 40 acres the district owns east of the high school on Keslinger Road. Besides farming the fields, members promote the study of agriculture for a variety of careers. One of their most noticeable events is the annual take-your-tractor-to-school day, during National FFA Organization Week. As of Monday, it had about $40,000 in its activity account.

The club and the district's business office will now pursue a contract for the bus. Depending on the cost, it may have to be advertised for public bidding, according to Julie-Ann Fuchs, the district's business superintendent.