Board votes to close Upper Elementary

    GRUNDY CENTER —    In a decision that seemed inevitable with the Grundy Center Community School District budget situation, the School District’s Board of Directors last Wednesday voted to shutter the District’s Upper Elementary building, saying that it cannot afford to keep the building open.
    The vote was 3-2 in favor of the closure, with Board members Brent Ascher, Chad Mackie and Ron Saak in favor and Bob Johanns and Kelly Mathews against.
    Debate was not about whether to close the building, but instead about when to vote to do it. Mathews and Johanns said they were uncomfortable voting to close the building without first having a plan of what to do with the groups that use it.
    “If we decide to close it, we need a plan for those using the facility,” Mathews said.
    “We don’t have a plan,” Johanns said while indicating that he was not convinced that closing the building is a bad idea. “What are we going to do about the gymnasium?”
 

For more of this story, see the Oct. 30 Grundy Register.