Citizen group proposes new FHS location

Following 12 months of study and community discussions, a Fremont citizens committee is recommend ing that a new high school be built on property owned by Wagenmaker Farms on 56th Street.

The recommendation, presented to the school board on Monday night, encourages the school board to seek a bond vote next May for $39 million and to enter into a purchase agreement or option “for the buildable land” adjacent to the Newaygo County Fairgrounds.

Any property purchase would be contingent upon the school board approving the site for a high school and obtaining the necessary construction funding through a successful bond approval, according to the recommendation.

The buildable property is valued at approximately $350,000, an amount that could be lessened through a state program for preserving and restoring wet lands on the property, said citizens committee co-chair David Byrne.

Committee members anticipate that the property’s wet lands would be donated by Wagenmaker Farms as part of any purchase agreement.

The committee also encouraged the school board to enter into an agreement that would repurpose the existing high school for other uses that would “preserve part or all of the historic nature of the building and (its) connection to our community.”

The school board must decide by Dec. 15 whether to submit a bond application to the state Department of Treasury, said school Superintendent Dr. John Kingsnorth. The state treasury’s response would likely be returned in late January, he said.

In making its recommendations, Byrne said that the citizens committee completed “exhaustive” studies that included reviews of the existing high school and of several building site options.

“We looked at the current high school in light of safety, teaching, learning and its result on the economic condition of the Fremont community,” Byrne said.

He noted that the committee actively sought community input through press releases, poster displays, flyers, emails, surveys, “dozens of community presentations and discussions,” and three community forums over the past 12 months.

More than 100 people participated on the citizens committee, and “we estimate that as many as 1,500 people provided direct input into the process,” Byrne said.

Bob and Bonnie Erber said that they became involved with the committee because “it was an opportunity to participate in a process close to our hearts: enhancing the quality of life in Fremont, in general, and in the education of our children in particular.”

“We have six grandchildren enrolled in Fremont schools, and we are supportive of any special efforts to improve Fremont economically, educationally and residentially,” Bob Erber said. “The Future of Fremont committee, and its mission to improve the educational offerings of our high school, in our view has a timely and an increasingly urgent goal.”

Byrne said that the proposed site combines the best attributes of the two most popular choices for a location for a new high school, the county fairgrounds and the middle school property, while minimizing concerns for traffic congestion at the middle school and the availability of the fair grounds property.

According to the committee’s recommendation, the recommended location would provide visibility and direct access to M-82, would enhance learning opportunities for students, and would fit in with city and township master plans.

“We want to thank everyone who has attended meetings, public forums, obtained community input, given input, or completed a survey,” Byrne said. “It took a ton of time and effort by many members of the community.”

“We feel we have a really good proposal that will ensure that Fremont students receive a competitive education while improving the economic needs of the community.”

12/10/2008 Times Indicator Article (p. 1) Times Indicator
Fremont Public School News