Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Public asked to ignore rumors of school closing



There are a lot of rumors out there regarding the closing
of the Winsted Elementary School, board member Leo Weber told the HLWW School
Board last Monday.

His statement reinforced the same sentiments put forth
by board member Charles Weber.

Charles also told the board, “My feeling is we should
look at the option of retaining students. I think we should add rooms to
Winsted and have K-6 there to prevent any more open enrollment.”

Acting chairperson Mary Pettit said this was just one of
many good suggestions the Long Range Facilities Task Force is hearing. The
task force is trying to determine the building needs of the school district.

But, Pettit said that people should slow down and let the
task force process work.

If people have questions, they should call a school board
member, rather than listen to rumors, she said.

Referring to the Winsted school, board member Michael Steckelberg
said, “That building will be open next year, the year after that, and
the year after that. That school will be open for the next four years.”

Board and task force member Randy Heuer said, “We
want to get something (accurate information) out there, but we want it to
be complete to the point we (task force) are at the time.”

He said the task force is only talking about ideas at this
time.

“Every time we ask a question, two more questions
surface,” said board member Jim Fowler.

The task force asked for permission to hire Schroeder
Communications to assist with securing formal public input, and Fowler
said he supported that.

“I see with Schroeder someone who can provide communications
from the public to the school board and from the school board to the public,”
he said.

Pettit said “We need to let the taxpayers know what
we are thinking. There is this large picture, and we are trying to put together
a lot of pieces.”

Heuer was also for the idea of retaining Schroeder.

He told the board, “One of the things we have tried
to do is to set aside our political differences, but we can’t do that anymore.
We need help.”

The board then authorized the task force to spend up to
$12,000 on Schroeder Communications.

Possibly included in the cost would be a comprehensive,
informational brochure, telling the public where the task force is at this
time, said Superintendent Riley Hoheisel.

The task force wants to confirm that district residents
understand the need for a new facility, regardless of location, and wants
to test public response to proposed costs and tax impacts.

It wants to explore the issues related to public perception
and public preferences.

The task force wants to make sure its final recommendation
is viable, sound, clearly understood, and worthy of serious consideration
by the residents of the district, according to the task force update.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.