Former North Winneshiek School Board member Phil Richert speaks about the future of North Winn

Phil Richert (bottom left) at a reception in 2013 as he was retiring from the North Winn School Board

Phil Richert served as a North Winneshiek School Board member for 15 years, including time as school board president, before deciding to retire in 2013.  So he has had a close up experience with school financing.

Tuesday night Richert spoke about the challenges now facing North Winneshiek.  He said the problems North Winneshiek faces are NOT about the quality of education at the school.  "Nobody ever said our kids aren't getting a good education," he told the 75 people attending the meeting.  "The problem is there just aren't many kids (in our district."

Richert encouraged the current school board members to maintain the school as a preschool through 5th grade facility.  "We can maintain it as a small school," he said, concluding, "This is too good a place to let it sit empty."