Board elects new officers

Published 10:13 am Tuesday, July 22, 2003

By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
The Dowagiac Board of Education held its annual organizational meeting on Monday night at Patrick Hamilton Middle School.
The board reelected its current officers of Randy Cuthbert, president; Tina Haggin, vice president; Sherry File, secretary; and Jane Laing, treasurer.
File and Laing were not present at the meeting.
The board also heard updates on Lincoln Elementary School and the progress of the new middle school.
Superintendent Larry Crandall told the board that the district has had several "serious" inquires about the property and several groups have been given tours of the facilities.
Board member Bill Lawrence, after several minutes of discussion on the topic, moved that the board begin talks with the city about helping the district find a way to turn the facility into something that would be youth oriented.
As luck would have it, Dowagiac city manager Bill Nelson was on hand and he said that the city would be more than glad to open discussions on the topic.
The motion was seconded and passed.
Nelson, who along with Lawrence, presented the board with information about the formation of the Dowagiac District Library.
Nelson spoke briefly on how the district library would work and fielded questions from several board members. Nelson told the board that along with Wayne Township, the school district and the city would join to create the Dowagiac District Library.
A proposal has been given to the school district and it is believed it will be discussed at the August board meeting.
If Wayne Township passes the proposal, as well as the city and the school district, the State of Michigan has 60 days to approve the district library. The library would have a fiscal year which would start on Oct. 1. All the facilities of the current Dowagiac Library, and its employees, would be transferred to the district library.
In order for the Dowagiac District Library to succeed, according to Nelson, it must pass a millage of at least .75 mills by June 30, 2005. If a millage has not passed by then, there is an automatic termination clause in the proposal.
The Board was told that work is progressing well on the new junior high facility. A tour prior to the school board meeting was scheduled, but due to a large amount of rain which left the site extremely muddy, the tour was postponed until prior to the regular board meeting on Sept. 15.
In other business: