WILLMAR -- The Willmar Public Schools Foundation Board has agreed to donate $5,000 to a solar panel project at Willmar Junior High.
The board voted to make the donation at its meeting Tuesday. Members also voted to donate $600 to a suicide prevention program at the Senior High.
Karen Hilding, coordinator of the Schools for Energy Efficiency project, made a presentation to the board in December. She asked them to consider a donation to an effort to place solar panels on the roof of the entry to the Junior High.
Board members said at the time that they supported the project and the energy conservation message it could bring to students and the community.
The panels will generate a small amount of electricity and will be used as a teaching tool in classrooms across the district. Students will be able to use computers to monitor the energy generated and the environmental benefits of the energy from the solar panels.
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The total cost of the project is $25,800. About half that amount had been raised by December.
On the strength of a favorable treasurer's report, board members decided to make the $5,000 donation for the panels.
The report indicated that the foundation has more than $21,000 available in its checking and savings accounts. Donations at the end of the year were more than $3,800.
"I think we could afford to do a pretty nice gift," said board member Brad Schmidt.
"I think it would be a good project," said board member Duane Hanson. "We have some funds, and we don't need to be a banker."
Board member Orlo Almlie agreed, saying the foundation "ought to be helping kids," not accumulating money in the bank.
Sally Jahnke, wellness coordinator at Willmar Senior High, had requested $600 to help pay the $3,200 cost of the suicide prevention campaign she plans for February. She has also received grants from United Way, PACT 4 Families Collaborative and Youth for Christ.
Chairman Bill Taunton said he had known four young men in their teens and 20s who had taken their own lives in the past year. "I don't know what good six hundred dollars will do, but I would gladly give six hundred dollars myself to have any one of them back," he said.
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"If it helps just one person," the $600 Jahnke sought would be worth it, he said.
Superintendent Kathy Leedom said Jahnke has an advisory committee which helps plan the events, and it includes a number of students. The goal of the program is to "help young people know to whom they can turn," she said.
The board members voted to set the second annual Foundation Gala for April 20 at the Willmar Senior High. The gala will raise money to replace the high school's choir robes, which are 30 years old, at a cost of about $15,000. Last year's gala for band uniforms raised about $16,000. Additional funds raised would be used for other music or fine arts needs in the district.
Last year, donors received a set of postcards featuring student art. This year, the gift will be a CD of student musical performances.
