No Streaming for Lanesboro Board Meetings

After receiving requests for their meetings to be streamed, the Lanesboro School Board ultimately decided to not stream their monthly meetings at their April 8 meeting. At the board’s request, Superintendent Matt Schultz had contacted 10 schools in the area to ask whether they streamed their meetings. 

Schultz reported that five schools have never and do not intend to stream or record their meetings. One school previously streamed meetings, but recently stopped. Another school records their meeting and later posts them. Three schools currently stream their meetings. 

Basic costs for streaming would include a device called a Meeting Owl which would sit on a tripod with cameras all around it. This would cost $2,000. A laptop computer sufficient for streaming would cost another $1,500. In order to meet requirements, Zoom Meetings ($200) would be needed. The stream would then be pushed to YouTube.

After recording, an archival transcript service would be required ($200 annually). With the new ADA requirements, a professional closed captioning service with 100% accuracy would be required which costs $300 per hour. Any streaming or audio recording would require such captioning.

Once a meeting is streamed, it creates public data. The data would need to be posted for a minimum of seven years. A person might need to be hired to set up the meeting recordings, connect with the closed captioner and post the meetings. Schultz estimated that the first year would cost $16,000 with a yearly cost of $11,000 to $12,000 after that. 

Board member Mark Holmen made a motion and Steve Storhoff seconded it to scrap the live stream at this time due to the cost with the provision that the issue could be revisited after June 2027. The motion passed unanimously.

Semester Test Policy

Once again the board discussed the semester test attendance policy for the high school. The Policy Committee made three recommendations for changes to the policy after reviewing comments. The first recommendation was that the test would not be able to lower a student’s grade – only improve it.

The second recommendation was to keep the weight of the test at 20% of the grade. This was suggested by teachers on the committee who said leaving the weight at 20% would allow the student to improve the final grade more easily. 

The third recommendation was to exempt absences due to mental health needs from the semester test policy following a parent/administrator conference. 

It was noted that teachers already have flexibility to assess student learning in different ways. The two testing days are intended to be used to help student learning. Holmen suggested the days could be called in-person learning days.

The board chose to wait to vote on the policy until it has been rewritten. It will be voted on at the next meeting and will go into effect next school year.

Financial Discussion

Superintendent Schultz shared that the student population would be down by 10 students next year, resulting in a funding loss of $150,000. There will also be a reduction of compensatory revenue which is not tied to enrollment of $110,000. Library aid which started at $40,000 will be only $19,500 next year. Total change in revenue will be about $280,000. 

Schultz added that ADSIS will likely be eliminated next year (a loss of $70,000). Transportation for care and treatment which is not on IEPs will not be paid next year. He anticipates a total reduction in state aid of $135,000 to $170,000. 

Increased expenses include staffing, transportation costs for equipment, fuel and parts, and school supplies. PSEO (Post Secondary Enrollment Options) affects the budget as well. An average of 10 students opt to enroll in the program each year.

Mark Holmen asked when the last operating referendum was held. The most recent one was for $315 per student which was in effect from 2001-2012. Board member Sarah Peterson noted that it was important to look toward the next five years to do what is best for Lanesboro’s students. The Finance, Facilities and Long Range Planning Committee will be meeting soon and make recommendations in the future.

Business Conducted

Business conducted by the board included:

• Hiring Andrew Gaustad as a daycare aide;
• Accepting the resignation of head girls’ basketball coach Steve Storhoff;
• Approving policies 532, 533 and 534 after second readings;
• Approving of the 2026-2027 sports agreements;
• Approving the issuance of purchase orders for the 2026-2027 school year.