Summerland board enters executive session regarding Ewing school sale

A purchase agreement for the Ewing School property was presented to Summerland Board of Education members and discussed briefly, in open session, at the June 14 meeting.

Superintendent Kyle Finke said the agreement, for $10,000 for all property and contents, contains a contingency that a 1% sales tax would need to be passed by Ewing voters in November’s General Election.

Finke left it to the board’s discretion whether to enter executive session regarding the agreement.

“I think we should,” board member Nate Schwager said, with the board entering exeutive session at 8:54 p.m. The closed session lasted until 9:21.

When asked if the board was making a decision, media members were told no; however, proceedings from the meeting show the board authorized Finke to make a counter offer to the village.

Following executive session, media members of the audience were told the board had not made any decision regarding the sale.

The legal proceedings, which appear on Page 8 of this edition, note that the board give Finke authority to make a counter offer, to the Village of Ewing, for the Ewing property.

In other business, the board:

• approved purchase of a 2023 53-passenger bus from Cornhusker International, in the amount of $91, 200. The district will receive trade-in credit totaling $2,000, for two buses which will be removed from the current fleet. According to Finke, $42,000 in ESSER funding will be applied toward the purchase.

• learned the district should start earmarking funds for a new charter bus.

• voted to resurface the main and auxiliary gym floors. A water-based finished will be applied, which has a three-day drying period.

• increased substitute teacher pay to $125. A substitute who teaches five consecutive days will receive $135 per day.