As part of the budget for the Department of Public Instruction, the Senate approved a plan to spend $2.6 million to renovate part of the School for the Blind in Grand Forks.
That part of the building is leased by the Grand Forks school district for its alternative, or second chance, high school. Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Ray Holmberg (R-Grand Forks) says that part of the building hasn’t been renovated since it was built in the early 1960s.
"The school district is getting itchy for a site that meets their needs, rather than paying 41 percent of the budget of a state agency and being in a building that is very substandard," said Holmberg.
Sen. Joe Miller (R-Park River) suggested that the School for the Blind be merged with the School for the Deaf – and moved to Devils Lake. Miller says the state could then use the building in Grand Forks for the Medical School, rather than going forward with a new Med School building.
"I think that would be a better policy for the state of North Dakota," said Miller. "It would save money in the long run."
But the measure passed 45 to 2 with the renovation monies intact. The measure now goes back to the House to see if it agrees with Senate changes.
