The Holmen School Board voted Monday night to formally oppose the proposed CapX2020 high-voltage power line project. Board President Tim Medinger said that the board was compelled to adopt a resolution because of its role as a custodian of taxpayer dollars.

Beverly Brady, a member of the Citizens Energy Task Force opposed to the project, presented a petition to the school board signed by 607 residents of western Wisconsin. Forty-five percent of those signatures, or 284, were from residents with Holmen addresses.

Medinger couldn’t say whether the number of local signatures swayed the board members, but he was happy to see concerned citizens take action. “I love it when the public comes out,” he said. “I wish we could have crowds at every meeting.”

The proposed line would run near Prairieview Elementary School.

Town boards in Holland and Farmington have also passed mostly symbolic measures opposing the project.