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School Board discusses future of properties
North Crawford
North Crawford

In an otherwise light agenda for their January 15 meeting, the North Crawford School Board spent quite a bit of time discussing plans for the future of three properties owned by the district. Those properties are located on Del La Mater Road, along Highway 131 near the Royal Bank, and on West Point Road.

After lengthy discussion, the board voted unanimously to table the decision about what to do with the three properties.

The Del La Mater Road property is a half-acre property, with Fleming Orchard and Allen Teach owning neighboring parcels. The property was the location of the former High Ridge School, and remained in district ownership after the school was closed.

The Highway 131 property near the Royal Bank in Gays Mills is a 16-acre property on a steep, wooded hillside. The property runs up the orchard hill to just below the lookout along Highway 171. The property was donated to the district by the Sherwood family in 1987, and according to Munson, there are no restrictions on the deed designating it a school forest or restricting its sale.

The West Point Road property is a 10.5-acre property that is bounded by properties owned by Jayne Swiggum and Josh and Jessica Kasinkas. The property is wooded, and contains trees with commercial value, as well as trees that may need to be cut before they become a problem.

Recommendations

Superintendent Brandon Munson reported that the Buildings & Grounds Committee members had discussed future plans for the three properties, and had made recommendations to the school board. He said the recommendation was to sell the Del La Mater Road and Highway 131 properties. The recommendation, according to Munson, for the West Point Road property was to retain ownership and to log the property. He said that if the board decided to pursue logging on the West Point Road property, they would need to decide the scope of the logging operation.

“The committee recommends offering to sell the Del La Mater Road property to either Fleming Orchard or Alan Teach before offering it to the public,” Munson told the board. “Since the Highway 131 property has never been used by the district, and may not be suitable for use as a school forest, the committee recommends offering it for sale.”

The board discussed what municipality the Highway 131 property is in, and whether part of it is within the limits of the Village of Gays Mills. Board member Judy Powell suggested that if that is the case, then before the property is listed, it could be offered for sale to the village. Board member Mark Fredelake pointed out that a village well building is located in that area, either on or adjacent to the property.

“Taxes are not paid on the property, so it’s difficult to determine what municipality the property is located in,” Munson said.

Munson reported that the Buildings & Grounds Committee thought that while the West Point Road property hadn’t been used much by the district, it might be used in the future. In the meantime, the committee recommends allowing Smiley Logging to log the property so the district could realize some income. He said the amount of income would depend upon the scope of the logging operation authorized by the board.

“It could be $30,000 in income if the parcel were entirely logged off in a full harvest, but it could become an eyesore with all the debris left after the logging is completed,” Munson said. “If a lesser logging operation were authorized, as recommended by Smiley Logging, then the income would be less, but the property would not be an unsightly mess. The committee’s thinking is that taking this approach would allow the district time to decide upon the property’s future and would not prohibit a future decision to sell the property.”

Munson said that in the meantime, the committee recommends changing the posting on all three properties to ‘no hunting,’ replacing the current ‘no trespassing’ signs. This would allow members of the public to walk on the properties for enjoyment. Munson said the district would be protected from any liability for any injury suffered by a member of the public while walking on the properties by the ‘Open Gym Law.’

Board discussion

Board member Cody Brockway expressed disagreement with the recommendation to sell the Highway 131 property.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” Brockway said. “If we keep it, it could be income later just as much as it could be income now, and it may be the property would be suitable to develop a Forest School like the LaFarge School District has at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.”

Board member Charissa Richter suggested the board wait to make a decision about the Highway 131 property until after the district hears from the folks at UW-Stevens Point about possible uses for the property as a school forest.

“The property is basically a very steep hill that likely would present safety issues were it to be used as a school forest, and I really can’t think of any use the district might make of it,” board member Mark Fredelake said. “On the other hand, the West Point Road property has more potential to be useful for the district.”

“It seems that there are questions the board needs answered about the Del La Mater Road and Highway 131 properties,” board president Terry O’Donnell observed. “Do we want to move forward with logging the West Point Road property?”

Board member Ed Heisz pointed out that the district could log the West Point Road property without reducing the future selling price. He pointed out that in the process of logging, there would be roads created on the property.

“I definitely don’t want to see the West Point Road property clear cut,” Fredelake said.

Board member Jerry Coleman said that he is opposed to logging the West Point Road property at all.

“If we don’t clear cut it, then the amount of money we’d get from it will be vastly reduced,” Coleman pointed out. “I would like to see a forester evaluate the property before deciding how to move forward. I think the property would be more useful to the district if it isn’t logged – logging makes a mess, and allows for the spread of invasive species into the woodlot.”

Coleman also expressed agreement with Brockway that the district should not sell the Highway 131 property, and recommended that the board table a decision about all three of the properties.

“I think we should explore enrolling the Highway 131 and West Point Road properties in the Managed Forestry Law program, and look for ways to improve the properties,” Brockway said.

“There are pine trees on the West Point Road property that need to be cut before they become a problem,” Heisz observed.

In other business

In other business, the board:

• heard a presentation from kindergarten teacher Bethany Seiser about the successes in the first year of the district’s RISE (Resilience, Integrity, Safety, Efficacy) program, and about activities undertaken or planned in the current school year

• learned that elementary staff had participated in a professional development day with CESA about how to increase effectiveness through use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools

• learned that 4K Screening would occur on Monday, Jan. 27, from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

• learned that overall, the district’s 2024-2025 budget is on track at the year’s midpoint, with only slight deficits in athletics and food service, and a slight surplus in maintenance

• approved a voluntary staff transfer of Mrs. Alexia Jones to fill the Library Aide position vacated by Stephanie Roth’s resignation

• approved the district’s open enrollment space projection of 213 for elementary, 85 for middle school, 107 for high school, and 103 for special education for submittal to the Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction.