The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Vision award goes to school leader
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 10, 2008
New merry-go-rounds in Brecon and Canterbury parks.
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A 911 simulator for a safety education program.
Movies in the Park, an eight-week-long summer playground program, a disc golf course and a revitalized playground for Houghton Elementary School.
The Weber-Blaess one-room schoolhouse. A major and ambitious redevelopment plan for Henne Field.
These are but a sampling of projects funded in part by a 0.85-mill recreation tax passed by Saline voters almost eight years ago. Known as CARES (Cultural Arts, Recreation, Enrichment, and Senior Citizens), the millage has had a far-reaching impact on Saline residents' quality of life and the area's landscape.
For six of those eight years, Saline Superintendent Scot Graden has served as chairman of the CARES Millage Advisory Board, which annually awards more than $200,000 in grant money to a broad range of programs and initiatives.
Since 2000, the advisory board, in cooperation with the Saline Board of Education, has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants to various community organizations, including the Girl Scouts, Saline Area Soccer Association, and African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County.
As this year's recipient of the Saline Salutes George A. Anderson Vision Award, Graden is being recognized for his stewardship and facilitation of the advisory board.
Graden was an integral influence in the community-wide planning process that researched the prospects for the millage in 1999.
As the district's then recreation and enrichment program specialist, Graden's background in community education and recreation folded perfectly with the millage's intent and identified him as the ideal candidate to help steer the grant process.
"The beauty of CARES has been in the variety and depth of programming and projects that would not have happened without its funding," he said, crediting former Superintendent Ellen Ewing and retired district administrator Nancy Brenton with spearheading the millage.
The 10-year millage generates approximately $900,000 a year. Seventy-four percent of the funds are allocated to five specific programs. The money is distributed based on a proscribed formula: 21 percent funds operating costs of the high school pool; 10 percent goes to the operation of the school's auditorium; 21 percent funds the Saline Area Senior Citizens Center; 19 percent is funneled into Saline Community Education; and 3 percent is set aside for teen and adolescent programs.
The remainder, roughly $200,000 a year, is earmarked for discretionary allocation as recommended by the advisory board.
In 2005, $800,000 over six years was put toward the renovation of the aging Saline Recreation Complex.
Another significant beneficiary of CARES funds is a plan to redevelop Henne Field, located behind Union School, which has been awarded close to $900,000 over the past three years. Proponents claim the project could transform and extend downtown Saline.
"There is no doubt CARES has enhanced the quality of life in the Saline area," said Graden, "and the model, quite unique, allows provisions for the ever-evolving needs of the community."
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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