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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us March 15, 2005 School board outlines process for Lincoln grounds proposals By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings The meeting pushed 11 p.m. and a portion of the agenda had to be jettisoned off to next month's meeting, but the Ashland School Board OK'd review procedures and evaluation criteria for the Lincoln School sale or lease proposals due next month. Proposals will first be considered based on their financial viability, an element measured by the price offered for the building, the financial stability of the applicant and the occupancy timeline. Next, the board will review proposals based on their community benefit, followed by an evaluation of the impact of each proposal on the Ashland School District. The community benefit of a proposal will outweigh the affects on the Ashland School District. After the review process is complete, proposals for the $24,000 per-month leasing arrangement will be favored over the $6 million sale of the 79-year-old elementary school at 320 Beach St. Although the procedures and criteria were unanimously approved, board member Heidi Parker had urged the board to slow the timeline for the sale or lease of Lincoln School, which is slated to close as a public school in June. "Obviously, I would like more community input," Parker said. "I would just like to go more carefully." At the Feb. 14 meeting, the school board decided it would not include the playground or playing field space for sale or lease at this point and released two requests for proposals. The first would be for the sale or lease of the building and parking lot; the second for a triangular-shaped area closest to the corner of Mountain Avenue and Henry Street. Some community members expressed concern that the evaluation criteria would be announced less than three weeks before the request for proposals expires on April 4; others were worried the decision on who will occupy the building after June may happen with little opportunity for community members to voice their opinions. Suggestions that the school board create a citizen's review board that would also look at the proposals for the future use of Lincoln School were met halfway when board chair Amy Amrhein stated the board would be taking community input but was "reserving its right to be the sole decision-maker." In other school board business: o District Superintendent Juli Di Chiro announced a new Waldorf-style first grade will be offered at the Willow Wind Community Learning Center in the fall. The first grade will be a full-time program created under the state's alternative education guidelines and be open to 18 to 24 first-graders. An informational meeting will be held 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Willow Wind. For more information, call Debbie Pew at 482-2684. o Board members questioned whether the Willow Wind barn-raising project should included in the district's capital improvements bond because it is a school building. Because the barn is not considered a necessary improvement, like lighting upgrades to district buildings might be, the board encouraged the Willow Wind community to continue its fundraising efforts. o A search to replace retiring ASD Business Manager Loren Luman has begun. o Representatives from the Save Our Schools and Playgrounds group discussed two preliminary proposals for the retention and maintenance of the playgrounds and open spaces at both Lincoln and Briscoe schools and asked the school board to come up with a long-term strategic plan for the use of district properties. o The board approved a potential reduction in certified employees and a probable reduction in classified employees that may occur because of the closure of Lincoln School. o The board voted to support Senate bills 335 and 956, which would give individual communities the power to ban concealed weapons from public school campuses. Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams