Without a discussion, the Gary School Board unanimously nixed a request from a Houston-based company to erect two cell phone towers at schools in Miller.
Superintendent Yvonne Stokes asked the board to turn down the request during Wednesday’s meeting.
“At this time, however, we have listened to information Crown has provided and to information the community provided and done our own research. And at this time… I request the board vote no,” said Stokes.
Crown Castle wanted to locate the towers on property near Gary Middle School and at Banneker at Marquette Elementary.
In August, the company offered $34,800 annually for a 50-year lease with a 3% increase each year.
Earlier this month, Crown Castle increased the offer to $39,000 annually.
Residents have opposed the lease since it was proposed in August. Several people spoke out against it Wednesday before the board vote, including Gary Teachers Union president GlenEva Dunham.
Dunham said teachers in both schools opposed the location of the cell towers. “More research is needed,” she said. “I ask the board to vote no.”
The board also heard a presentation from Edgewater Health, a Gary-based mental health clinic that wants to open a health clinic inside the West Side Leadership Academy.
School board member Danita Johnson Woods is president and CEO at Edgewater.
At a previous meeting, representatives from Gary-based Community HealthNet Health Centers, made a similar request to open a health clinic at West Side.
The board hasn’t announced a timeline for a decision.
The district also announced that long-time public information director Chelsea Whittington, who worked under former contractor MGT Consulting, would be retained as the district’s chief public and community relations officer.
After the meeting, Whittington said the position would be part-time and she planned to continue with her business, C WHITT PR. She’s also an adjunct instructor at Indiana University Northwest.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
