Students Say Course Steers Them Right

The thing Brian Manley remembers most about a Black Angus calf he named Freddy was his calm, peaceful manner, the way he followed without resistance while stablemates bucked wildly and fought control.

“He was just really nice,” the 15-year-old high school student said. Of all the animals he has bought and raised over 3 years in an agricultural program at Valencia High School in Placentia, Freddy was his favorite, he said, the hardest to give up.

“When I had to give him up, it was really sad,” he said. “You kind of get attached.”

The 6-month-old steer was Manley’s project last year in the Placentia Unified School District’s agricultural program.

That program, now 55 years old, may end this year if officials decide next month that it costs too much.

“One of our major concerns is the cost of upgrading the facility,” said Sharon McHolland, an assistant superintendent for Placentia schools. Many of the buildings are old and considered unsafe by current safety standards, she said. McHolland is awaiting a report on repair costs and will make a recommendation to the school board next month.

School officials said a greenhouse, a lathe house--used to help plants adjust to transfer from the greenhouse to the ground--and a barn need to be upgraded. Estimates to repair the greenhouse alone are from $3,000 to $4,000, officials said. Operating costs for the program last year were more than $8,000.

Those costs and low enrollment have caused officials to consider closing the program or transferring it to Fullerton High School, the closest of 12 county high schools offering similar programs.

The program serves about 55 junior and senior high school students in its three classes. Ideal enrollment would be from 90 to 100 senior high school students, McHolland said. McHolland said she is examining ways to increase student interest in the program, such as offering college credit for the course and increasing its horticultural focus. That aspect of the program is now limited to a spring vegetable garden because the greenhouse is not functioning, school officials said.

The program also teaches students to raise livestock, including selection of quality animals, nutrition, grooming, record-keeping and basic medical treatment, teacher Larry Tibbs, 31, said.

“They are actually doing everything they have to do to keep the animals alive and in good health,” said Tibbs, who began raising animals at age 9 on his family’s ranch in Hollister.

At the half-acre stable this week, young pigs, disturbed from afternoon naps, snorted incessantly as curious strangers tromped through their muddy home. The pigs, along with sheep and cows, are owned by students, who get 4 days of classroom instruction and have hands-on training with the animals on Fridays, Tibbs said.

Like Manley, who started the program as an eighth-grader, students buy animals to breed, show or sell for slaughter. To buy them, the students either get loans from parents or take out low-interest loans available to agricultural students through two local banks.

Valencia students are raising 25 to 30 sheep, 9 pigs and 6 steers. Costs for animals range from $100 for lambs to as much as $800 for steers, Tibbs said. In addition, students raise up to $5,000 a year for expenses, he said.

“We look at it as a business,” Tibbs said.

Tracy Beck, a 17-year-old senior, said, “You have to be completely dedicated.” She and other students said they even come to campus on weekends and holidays during lambing season, from November through February, and may even stay with their animals 24 hours to monitor the births.

“The program has taught me a lot of responsibility that I never knew you needed to have an animal,” she said.

Most students said they participate in the program because they would like to study some form of life science in college or raise animals part time.

Manley, who with his family’s help has purchased two steers and two lambs and has sold one of each in the program, wants to be a veterinarian. Because he is learning simple medical treatments, such as administering shots to sick animals, he sees the program as a sort of training ground, he said.

Tibbs said he always notices a change in his students after they complete his class. “They’re more dependable, and they settle down a little bit.”

They also have a constructive way to occupy their time, said freshman Art Murillo, whose father was a rancher.

“It’s a great program because it gives you something to do after school,” the 14-year-old said.

And most important, Beck added, “it’s keeping us out of trouble and off the streets.”