School district looks for bond, and inherits grant
GWINN — A local district looks to prepare for the future of their facilities and is asking local homeowners to help.
Gwinn Area Community Schools held their Building and Site Committee meeting Monday night to clarify language and priorities concerning a bond they would like to bring before voters.
The schools look to propose a 15 year bond that would add one mil to their property tax. The district schools need building repairs, new buses and new classroom technology. The funds from the bond would help pay these bills that are several thousand dollars.
Superintendent Tom Jayne says, “For instance a new bus is $90,000, a new roof is $220,000. We don’t have enough in our General fund to support those types of improvements. So the voters will hopefully understand that, and that’s our goal is for them to understand our need and then support the need.”
Jayne says that the amount would come to about $30 per year for the area’s average homeowner. There are a few more steps before the bond reaches the voters in May.
On to some good news…
The district was bequeathed approximately $837,000 from Philip and Ruth Spade. The Spades were long time residents of Gwinn and Ruth was once a principal in the school district. The school will invest the money and use the interest gained for college scholarships. The interest could amount to as much as $50,000 a year.
Jayne says, “And we could break those up into four $10,00 scholarships, or one large scholarship. It all depends, our committee will have to determine that. First we are graciously going to accept the money, invest it wisely, and then it will live forever in moving forward, help students go to college.”
The district could begin to grant scholarships as early as May, the same time the bond proposal would reach voters.
Jayne says that the district will be good stewards of the grant money and will be for the bond if it is passed.