Owen-Withee School Board Discusses FEMA Grant
Friday, February 14th, 2020 -- 8:39 AM
-The Owen-Withee School Board discussed the FEMA grant at their meeting on Monday.The board discussed the FEMA project and the timeline moving forward. District Administrator Bob Houts reported that he had discussed the project at the Chamber of Commerce Annual meeting last Monday and told the group that if they don’t receive the grant they will not continue with the project. The board has decided to keep low profile in regards to the project for the next few months until they find out if they get the $2 million grant from FEMA. Grant awards are scheduled for around June 1st. Should they receive the grant, a November 3rd referendum would be needed to pay for their portion of the project. In the meantime, they instructed Mr. Houts to gather information and quotes on adding on to the Ag/Tech area, remodeling the current kitchen/cafeteria into locker rooms and a fitness center and redoing the track. This would be for possibly adding on to the FEMA project. The board also discussed the Reapportionment Project.
The board has discussed changing the way the board is made up and who can serve. Currently, they have a seven member board with 1 from the Village of Withee, 2 from the City of Owen and 4 from the rural area. In an effort to get more participation from community members in the annual elections, the board would like to change the voting so that any eligible district member could run for one of the seven seats, effectively making each spot on the board and “at-large” position. The board approved a motion to circulate a petition to send to the district clerk specifying this change. After 100 signatures are obtained, the resolution will go before the Annual Meeting for approval. The earliest this could take effect would be the spring election in 2021.
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