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I just got back from a study session on it ( Cherry expansion ). You are both right. We don't know what the future holds for that area but at this time our mining industry is ramping back up and they just keep pounding on the doors at the Cherry school to get in. The school is WAY over capacity. Of all of the schools in the district it is positioned perfectly to increase district enrollment which of course increases revenue for the entire district. When you look at the demographic maps its positioned in a large pool of open enrollment opportunities. Being right in between Virginia and Hibbing as the area expands in population helps us compete. The original plan should have leveled that school and placed a new ( Southridge/Northwoods) type building with larger capacity but the initial projections in 2008 were for a max. of about 350 students. Today ( as of Oct 31 ) they're at 452 and increasing... Cherry has become a money pit, but it's also the only school increasing enrollment ( increasing dramatically ) and has the ability to continue that trend into the future. Our choice is expand it or lock the doors and close enrollment... In regard to JCI, they are not hired and we are still debating that but one thing is for sure. We will have an independent watch dog that oversees the project which should have been done on the consolidation. I have always said that we know nothing as a board about construction on that level etc. We can't watch over this ourselves so we NEED to have somebody watching over thing for us that is completely independent from whoever we choose.

Troy Swanson