By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
The USD 475 Board of Education met Tuesday Night.
--Board of Education member Jason Butler was honored for his service. His term ends in January. Butler did not seek reelection.
--The construction of the new early childhood center is moving forward. Substantial completion is expected in January. The keys to the facility will be turned over to the District in April and the ribbon cutting will be on May 8. The facility will be put into service for the 2026 - 2027 school year.
--The current ECC buildings could serve as proposed locations to serve technology, safety and health needs, with the Hauge building in that complex potentially serving as a location for homeless students. That latter option would have to go through a process with the state.
--There are 7,330 students in USD 475 including early childhood students. Of that total using September count numbers 3, 663 are military connected students.Five buildings are Title 1 where more than 60% of the student population is at poverty level. A total of 24% of the students in the District overall were at poverty level. There were 61 gifted students.
--The Board approved an idea to develop a request for proposal for a grant writer ( or writers ).