The Minot Heritage Singers and the Voices of Note presented a check for $30,544 Thursday to the Minot Public Schools to be used to purchase instruments and other items for the music programs that were lost in the flood of 2011 and not covered by insurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency or other sources of aid.
The funds were raised in a variety of ways, including the Bridge Over Troubled Water concert in Williston that brought in nearly $10,000, the Messiah concert in Minot done in conjunction with Ken Bowles and the Minot State University music department and Voices of Note, and from the Heritage Singers' travel fund, according to a press release.
Much of the funding will likely be used for programs at the new Erik Ramstad Middle School when it has been constructed.
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Andrea Johnson/MDN • Curt Schall, president of the Minot Heritage Singers, presents a check to Nancy Langseth, president of the Minot School Board, for the district’s music programs.
Supt. Mark Vollmer told school board members that he is still waiting for a decision from FEMA about whether Erik Ramstad Middle School can be relocated to north Minot without the district losing out on some of its flood reimbursement money. FEMA had initially ruled that out because the flooded school does not lie within the 100-year flood plain. Vollmer said he's optimistic that decision will be reconsidered, but if FEMA does not change its decision, the district will need to come up with an additional $6 million in local funds to make up the difference between what it receives from FEMA and the cost of rebuilding in a north Minot location.
The board is moving forward with plans to build additions at Longfellow and Lewis and Clark elementaries, which will replace the flooded Lincoln Elementary. Vollmer said building should start by mid-May. FEMA will pay 90 percent of the cost and the state should pick up about 7 percent, with the local district responsible for 3 percent.
The Minot Head Start, also flooded, is also being repaired and should reopen in its former location by June, said Vollmer.
Vollmer also said that plans to replace Central Campus Plus, the district's alternative school program for grades 9 and 10, is on hold because the building is located in the city's Maple Street Diversion area, which would prevent the building from being renovated there. Instead, the district is considering using FEMA reimbursement money to build a new Central Campus Plus at Jefferson Early Childhood Center. Currently, students from Central Campus Plus are attending classes on the grounds at the Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center. Students from the flooded Adult Learning Center and Head Start are in temporary classrooms at Jefferson. Lincoln students are attending classes at First Presbyterian Church and Ramstad students are attending classes at the Minot Municipal Auditorium. Students are likely to remain in those locations for two years.