Gillett uses grants, gifts to purchase CNC

The Gillett School District tapped a variety of sources to purchase a computer numerical control (CNC) router machine with software. The 4-by-8-foot Camaster Stinger III with vacuum table cost $20,780. The MasterCam software needed to operate the router cost $8,200. The machine will be delivered in early December. According to tech ed teacher Preston Zimmerman, Gillett Secondary School was one of 14 schools to receive a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction STEM grant, which provided $9,602. More than 70 schools applied for a grant. The school also received a $2,500 Bond Foundation Grant, $4,000 Carl Perkins Grant and $500 Finnegan Lake Sportsman’s Club gift. The tech ed department contributed $3,178. Another $1,000 came from Jerry Luther, a Gillett resident for whom the tech ed department built a garage last year. The amount covered the cost of the labor to build the garage. Oconto Electric Cooperative donated $2,500 for the software, leaving the district with a balance of $5,700. The GOAL charter school and the traditional school will split the cost, each paying $2,850.