Ironwood board requests 2% funds

By RICHARD JENKINS

[email protected]

Ironwood — The Ironwood Area Schools will once again seek a portion of the Northern Waters Casino Resort’s 2% funds, after the district’s board of education approved forwarding a request Monday.

The $8,490 request is needed to allow the Gogebic County Community School to offer high school completion courses at the casino, according to the district’s letter to the 2% committee requesting the funds. This is the same amount requested last year.

“We have our GED program that runs here out of (Luther L. Wright K-12 School) and services students here in (western) Gogebic County. We also staff the program in Watersmeet and these funds help financially do that,” Superintendent Travis Powell told the board Monday.

The community school is a subsidiary of the Ironwood Area Schools, according to the district’s letter, and has been offering the courses at the casino for the past 35 years.

Ironwood has also been able to operate a “Pearson Vue Authorized Training Center” as part of the program, according to the letter, which is needed to meet a regulation for computer-based testing.

In other action, the board:

—Renewed the contract with the golf team, one of the district’s self-funded sports.

—Approved spending just over $8,000 for the purchase of two copiers and authorized using $1,500 for a one-year stipend for a MakerSpace coordinator, a new role the district is creating.

—Renewed the personnel report and the emergency operations plan.

—Authorized district staff to call for bids for snow plowing and fire extinguisher maintenance services.