The Glen Lake Board of Education squashed a potential affordable housing project on its 180-acre property on Benzonia Trail in Empire Township Monday.
“This is simply due to not having any process and procedure for changing the usage of this property. ... Before considering any potential changes designation, we need to become better educated ... the board will not be considering any changes to the current designation of the school forest property at this time,” Glen Lake Superintendent Jason Misner said in a prepared statement during the meeting.
Glen Lake was scheduled to hear informal presentations from Sleeping Bear Gateway Council and Department of Natural Resources tonight but held off.
Misner said the board will take ample time to learn how to best utilize the property within the current written provisions of this land, which sparked debate in October.
The project received attention from state representatives John DaMoose and Betsy Coffia, but ultimately was put on ice.
The property was originally deeded to the Empire Agricultural School in 1941 for $1 for timbering purposes. In 1955, the school districts of Maple City, Glen Lake, and Empire consolidated to form Glen Lake Community Schools.
The proposal, which has been under muted discussion since spring 2023, aimed to address the housing needs in Leelanau but quickly reached a dead end.
In spring 2023, Rick Schanhals, a Glen Lake School Board member since 2019, first inquired with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) about the possibility of using the property for affordable housing, instead of its initial use of forestry and recreation.
The DNR shot down the first attempts at communication because the 180-acre land is considered “prime” property, a piece of land over 120 acres that was given to a school district for a specific use through Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act 451.
In other business during its regular monthly meeting the board honored Virginia Woessner who completed a 6-year term on the Board of education.
The Lakers honored Virginia Woessner as she retired from the Glen Lake Board of Education after six years Monday.
Woessner said she will never forget her last day of a career with Glen Lake Schools as a counselor and more — a teacher came into her office and shut the door, saying she would give her first $50 to run for school board.
Initially, she had no thoughts about it, but it began to needle around in her head.
“When I (ran) I thought about the fact watching some board members fold there arms and have a real us/ them (teachers vs. board) mentality ... As an educator and former staff member, I thought it might be helpful as a board member to have played those different roles,” Woessner said.
Woessner ran against Cory McNitt and Lisa Siddall in 2018. Woessner was elected to the board with McNitt taking the presidency.
Woessner still remembers leaving a meeting in 2018 after half of the board resigned and four more were appointed.
“Best people to ever work with and we were saved,” she said.
Woessner persevered through plenty of tumultuous times including COVID, various superintendent searches, major construction projects, addressing test scores, staffing problems, and more.
“I’m leaving now as this board operates with head and heart and equal measure ... Collectively we’ve gotten to a place where our school is operating on all cylinders,” Woessner said.
Woessner will remain as the Glen Lake Foundation president.
