Forest Lake Lowdown

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School board delays vote on BOLD proposal BY JACKIE BUSSJAEGER STAFF WRITER

STILLWATER – On Thursday, Feb. 11, after a listening session held before the school board, the board voted to delay the vote on the BOLD proposal. School Board Member Mike Ptacek was the only one to vote against the recommendation to delay. The vote has officially been pushed back to March 3. The BOLD proposal cites slow projected population growth in the northern part of Washington County and an uneven distribution of resources and services across the schools as grounds to close Marine, Withrow and Oak Park Elementary effective 2017-18. Superintendent Denise Pontrelli recommended the delay because she felt additional time was needed for parents to understand the details of the proposal. On Feb. 10, a notice of claim was filed against the 834 school district by the parent group 834 VOICE (Voters Interested in our Children’s Education) in the event that the BOLD proposal was accepted. “It’s clear that there’s not an understanding with what our process was with the data,” Pontrelli said. Members of the board acknowledged the problems that have occurred within the district since the introduction of the BOLD proposal in late 2015, citing an unproductive divisiveness between parents in the northern part of the county, parents in the southern part of the county and members of the board. “Whatever our disagreements are, as part of 834, the cause of divisiveness is only our choice in how we see each other,” said school board member Amy Burback. “We’ve been asked, as a community, to hit pause.” The decision comes after weeks of opposition groups, including 834 VOICE and Stop Bold Cold, lobbying for more time before the board’s decision. Once it became clear that the board would likely stall the vote for SEE DELAYED VOTE, PAGE 12

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Students of the Earth and Space Science course Macy Roberts, grade 10, and Aaron Noe, grade 12, gather data from their solar device, which increases the temperature of water.

Forest Lake School district saves money, energy with solar panel project BY JACKIE BUSSJAEGER STAFF WRITER

FOREST LAKE – Forest Lake High School held an open house for area locals to present the district’s new solar panel project. Several state legislators were present, as well as representatives from Xcel Energy and Apex Efficiency Solutions, to explain the project and commemorate its success thus far. Installation of solar panels began in the fall of 2015 at Forest Lake Elementary, Wyoming Elementary, Century Junior High, Southwest Junior High and Forest Lake Area High School. The mild fall weather allowed the

rooftop panels to be installed ahead of schedule, and there are plans to mount ground panels at the Sports Center in the spring. At completion, the project will include nearly 6,300 total solar panels throughout the school district. The school jumped on to the idea of solar energy when Xcel Energy released a new solar program in January 2015. Partnering with Apex Efficiency Solutions of Anoka, as well as TruNorth Solar of Edina, the project was approved by the school board in September. A third-party tax investor funded the building, maintaining and insuring of the system, for which the investor

received federal tax incentives. This investor will own the the system for the next 20 years, after which the district will be able to purchase it. The district has pre-paid for 42% of the energy produced by the panel, which is similar to pre-paying for electricity. The district also receives incentives from Xcel Energy for this process. Altogether, the district will see $200,000 in cash flow in 2016, and possibly even more per year in the future. The panels will generate 2.4 million kWh per year, and the energy will be used directly by the school buildings. SEE SOLAR PANEL PROJECT, PAGE 12

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