Many Citrus High projects sold at reasonable price

Citrus High School students have a number of projects that are available to the public and everything built is sold for $50 over the cost of the products.

An elevated storage building — sitting on skids to allow easy moving of the building — will run for approximately $1,100. “We’re working on the roof, building it like a house — wiring it all up to code, just like a home,” said Russ Brandt, Citrus High instructor. “It’s all self-contained.”

If not sold sooner, it will be sold at the Porterville Fair.

“Everything is for sale,” Brandt said. “We don’t keep any of it.”

A chicken coop, complete with roosts and nesting boxes, sells for $775. The coop has everything a chicken and its owner might want, including a way to collect the eggs without entering the unit, and pulling handles to move the entire chicken coop to take advantage of droppings as fertilization.

The students also have a couple of potting buildings, complete with an area for potting and a cabinet for storing tools, selling for $575.

“Everything is sold for $50 over cost. We’re not in it to make a fortune,” said Brandt. “The students love this class and enjoy learning and working.”

The classes are not limited to male students.

“We have a lot of girls. Many came in not knowing much. Now they know all the equipment — drills, power saws,” Brandt said. “Every student who comes in makes a stake from scratch. They take a 2-by-4 post and make it into a stake. It takes three saws to accomplish it.”

Brandt begin the year with 200 students, eventually trimming them down to 120 to 125 students. But the elective class is popular and continuously growing, leaving Brandt thinking he might see as many as 600 students pass through his five classes before the school year ends.

“We already have the wood for our next project. If someone has a particular plan in mind, just tell me and we’ll see if it works,” Brandt said. “We’re ready to start building another set, and if people have something in mind, we can build it to their specifications. All they have to do is call the school and ask for Mr. Brandt.”

Citrus High School is located at 261 E. Mulberry. The school office number is 782-7130.