District 205 board members approved the removal of the prairie plot located behind Steele Elementary School at last night’s meeting.
Several members of the community, including Resources Conservationist Kara Downin with the Knox County Soil and Water Conservation District, spoke out against removing the plot.
“I’m in favor of the school board considering leaving the native prairie plot or a form of the native a prairie plot,” Downin said to the board and administration. “If changing is what is needed, it would benefit an outdoor classroom setting.”
Many of the community members suggested fencing in the prairie plot to prevent unwanted individuals from getting in and using the land.
Administrators for both Steele Elementary and the school district said that the issue was related to student safety.
“This all arose from some areas of concerns with some materials that we found in there as well as some visibility issues,” Superintendent Dr. John Asplund told the board and the community members in attendance.
Administrators detailed some of the concerning items that were found in the prairie plot — which included drug paraphernalia and a noose hanging in a tree.
Board members discussed allowing the seeds from the native plants to be collected so a prairie plot could be planted on a different piece of property.
In a highly contested vote, three of the five present members voted to approve the plot’s removal, following a time period where the prairie plot’s seeds could be collected, with Rod Phelps voting against and new member Wendel Hunigan abstaining.
This was not the only highly debated topic of the night. Board members also held lengthy discussions with regards to the High School Renovation project and School Boundary issues. No action was taken on those items. WGIL will have more on Monday night’s story on Tuesday afternoon.
