The Perry School District is in the midst of creating what they’re calling a “Success Room,” providing students having trouble in traditional classroom settings an alternative learning environment. To serve that purpose, the District has locked in a location for the venture.

The School Board approved a lease agreement with Tom and Kay Stokely Properties for the facility at 1030 26th Street in Perry, commonly known as the old Snap Fitness building. Superintendent Clark Wicks says the location is ideal for many reasons, including its proximity to the high school and middle school, as well as needing only minimal effort to adapt it to their needs. “As we looked at a number of different places, that was one of the selling points. It has restrooms, it has small group rooms, and then it has a large area, we might put some partitions out there. More importantly, that will be an area that we hope to help those kids that are struggling a little bit, and get them back on the road to success.”

Per the lease agreement, the District will pay $1,000 per month, plus utilities, for the facility. The one-year lease will start on July 1st. There will be some up front costs to get the building up do date with their needs, but after that it should cost between $35,000 and $40,000 per year to operate the Success Room. However, administrators believe those costs will be made up and then some by not having to send students to Woodward Academy.