Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Ironwood — The Ironwood Area Schools Board of Education went on record Monday as being open to discussions regarding the possibility of consolidating districts with the Bessemer Area School District.
The move came after Superintendent Tim Kolesar told the board he had sent a letter to Bessemer on Jan. 28 proposing the idea that the two districts meet to discuss a potential consolidation.
“I think the best thing for us to do is go on record and request a meeting with Bessemer officials,” Kolesar said Monday. “I think the time is right for us to move in this direction to secure, what I think, would be a solid educational system well into the future.”
If the districts did consolidate, the sizes of grade levels would range between roughly 72 students and 106 students, according to information from the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District cited in Kolesar’s letter. The total number of students in the high school would be approximately 351, an average Class C school in Michigan, according to Kolesar.
“I think Class C starts at 254 and ends at 466, or something like that,” Kolesar said.
Kolesar made clear this was very early in the process and consolidation was far from a sure thing.
“I think that it would be at least good for us to — if they’re interested — just to open discussions,” he said.
“Let’s just talk,” said Trustee John Lorenson, prior to making a motion to send a second letter opening discussions.
In December, Bessemer proposed consolidation with the Wakefield-Marenisco School District but the Wakefield-Marenisco board voted not to merge at its Dec. 21 meeting.
In other action:
— The board accepted a bid from South Shore Oil Company to provide motor oil. South Shore’s bid of $7.37 per gallon was the lowest of three bids.
— The board also accepted a bid for the purchase of eight Goodyear tires from Pomp’s Tire for $2,413. The company was the lowest of the four bids submitted.
— The board voted to contact the Keeweenaw Land Association to obtain a list of logging companies for the purpose of obtaining bids to log the school’s property near Lorenson Field and the bus garage on Ayer Street.
— The board also approved a handbook for the district’s playground monitors and revisions to the school’s cell phone policy, which K-12 Principal Denise Woodward said would be more enforceable than the existing policy.
