MITCHELL – At Monday’s Mitchell Community Schools board meeting, Frank Decker, Chief Professional Officer of the Lawrence County Boys and Girls Club, spoke to the board, discussing the potential addition of a new site in Mitchell.
Decker said the Boys and Girls Club recently received a Lilly Grant for $150,000 to establish a new site that would allow them to potentially expand into Mitchell. Though the grant would need to be matched, he said he feels confident he’ll be able to raise the necessary funds.
Though the current facilities in Bedford are open to all Lawrence County students, Decker said it is logistically challenging for some Mitchell kids to make it to the Bedford location. Because of this, he said the group’s strategic board had set out to expand to the area, should they eventually have an opportunity like what has been afforded them through the Lilly grant.
The funds from the grant would go towards paying site staff that would need to be hired to oversee operations and student supervision, which would be four employees, along with the hiring of a few interns through MCS programs.
The group currently operates five sites in Bedford, which provide after-school supervision, activities, and more to an average of 300 kids per day in total.
Decker told the board that he would need access to one of the district’s educational facilities from 3-6 p.m. throughout the school year to make it a reality. He told the board he hopes the opening of the incoming Fieldhouse can now free up one of the school’s gyms during that time.
The cost to families would be $30 annually per student. That $30 would allow the student access to the site during the designated hours for all 180 school days.
The board did not take any action on the matter during Monday’s meeting, opting to allow time to work with Decker on a Memorandum of Understanding agreement between the two parties that could be voted on next month.
