JOHN DAY The nonprofit GREAT Corp. has invited school board members and superintendents from across Grant County to a meeting next Monday, April 16, at The Outpost in John Day.

The meeting, starting at 6 p.m., is intended to explore opportunities and obstacles in providing a quality education to the children of the county.

The nonprofit, which stands for Grant Resource Enhancement Action Team, said it had invited representatives of the all the school districts in the county.

GREAT is hosting the meeting as part of its mission to bolster the economic strength of the county. In a letter to the schools officials, president King Williams noted that the quality of education is a strength that can help bring in and retain families in Grant County.

He noted the decline of funding for services including education, statewide.

The most recent decline in student populations, state funding and federal Safe and Secure Rural School funding has only accentuated the plight of our schools and their ability to deliver a quality array of educational opportunities, he wrote.

The situation prompted the schools to approach the Grant County Budget Commission last week and ask for funding from the Road Department. The county has shared its road funds, derived from federal county payments, in past years but planned to stop that practice with the coming budget. The change was proposed due to the expiration of county payments at the federal level.

At the April 3 budget committee meeting, county officials suggested they would favor funding for the schools if they had a clear indication that the countys school district were doing things to explore new ways to operate in a changing economy.

Williams referred to that challenge in the letter, saying GREAT wants to offer a forum for the districts to look at new and innovative opportunities.

He said, however, that the organization has no preconceived outcome or hidden agenda in the process. He described it as a chance to brainstorm ideas.

Next Mondays meeting, which open to the public, is intended to give the district officials room to explore such ideas together, but will not be an open forum for residents to air their complaints or concerns.