CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH DR. SARA CRONEY, GWINN SCHOOLS
Voters in the Gwinn Area Community Schools have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to build a new elementary school and make massive upgrades to the middle and high school building. The vote in Tuesday’s election on the bond request was 1,378 no to 865 yes, or 63 percent no to 37 percent yes.
“Of course, we’re disappointed,” Gwinn Superintendent Dr. Sara Croney told RRN News late Tuesday night. “However, I look at it as another opportunity to listen to our community. We need to analyze the results. We need to have some opportunities to speak to the community, and find out what their fears are. Find out what more they think we ought to be considering. Listening is the only way that we’re going to be able to get better.”
The main part of the proposal would have closed the Gilbert and K.I. Sawyer Elementary Schools, and built a new, centralized elementary school for grades K-through-5. It would have also made security upgrades, built an auxiliary gym, and made other improvements to aging infrastructure.
“None of the need has gone away,” Croney said. “The need for safety and security still exists. The community obviously feels that the ask, right now, is something they are not trusting. So, what more do we need to do to build that trust?”
Croney says that she, along with longtime employee Brad Pfluger, will meet with the committee on Wednesday to discuss where to go from here.
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