At the September 19 Lanesboro School Board meeting, Transportation Director Chad Wangen informed the board that the school currently does not have any substitute bus drivers. Superintendent Matt Schultz pointed out that it’s very hard to find drivers and the district is open to applications.
At their last meeting, the Finance, Facilities, & Long-Range Planning Committee turned down the bids it received for the project as they were too high. They also met with the architecture firm to discuss changes that could be made to the plan to bring the costs down. They are on track to put the bids back out again by September 23 or 24 and have a target date of October 10 to open the sealed bids.
The Negotiations Committee met with the Teachers’ Association earlier that evening. “We had a good discussion,” Board member Dave Lawstuen said. “I think we’re not far apart, but at this point, we do not have an agreement.” He noted that, despite the lack of concurrence, the talks have been very amicable.
Superintendent Schultz reported that the enrollment numbers are up slightly this year. “I’m hoping that continues,” he said. Over the last three years, the school has grown by about 40 resident students which refer to those who live in the district versus open-enrollment pupils. The senior class for this year consists of approximately 24 students while 4/5 preschool has nearly 40.
Both the elementary and high school staff will be offering after-school homework help this year. “It’s a nice feature that we do after school here,” Superintendent Schultz said, noting that the high school just started offering that last year and decided to continue doing it. “It was well received,” he said.
Homecoming will take place during the week of September 23. The parade on Friday will have a different route than usual due to the Highway 52 detour.
A resignation from high school special education teacher Dana Norby was approved as well as the hiring of Laura Horihan for that position.
The district levy was certified at the maximum amount. Superintendent Schultz pointed out that it can always be lower later, but can’t be raised so it’s best to set it for the highest amount. The Teacher Assessment, Reflection, and Growth Protocol was approved as well as an early dismissal on December 20 at 11:32 a.m. A sport agreement with Mabel-Canton was approved for track and golf.
A resignation from school board member Lolly Melander was accepted. Melander had been a part of the board for nearly nine years. The rest of the board thanked her for her service. The board declined to pass a resolution to fill her seat and decided to post an advertisement for it instead.
The first readings of board policies 102 regarding equal education opportunity, 302 regarding the superintendent, 401 regarding equal employment opportunity, and 402 regarding disability nondiscrimination were reviewed.
Anonymous gifts in the amount of $20 for school supplies and $200 for the lunch fund were accepted as well as a $25,000 grant from the Bayer Fund. Special thanks were extended to David Bakke, Duane Bakke, Jordan Redalen, Patrick Troendle, and Steve Storhoff for nominating the district for the grant.
The next Lanesboro school board meeting will be held on October 14 at 7 p.m.
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