At the October 12 Lanesboro School Board meeting, the board reviewed two change orders for the facilities project. The first change order was in the amount of $1,011 for paint, kitchen, electrical, and sprinkler expenses and the second, in the amount of $6,301, was for the kitchen layout and equipment. Superintendent Matt Schultz informed the board that there will probably be one more change orders for them to approve before the project is complete on December 31, but the costs are still within budget. There will be a reimbursement for doors in the high school as they are unable to be changed due to being a size that isn’t made anymore. Instead of being replaced, those doors will be upgraded with ADA compliant hardware and deadbolts and repainted. The exterior door by the Ag room will be replaced, but the rest of the exterior doors just need new thresholds and adjustments.
There have been some issues with the kitchen renovations, but things are moving along in that area now. The kitchen equipment should arrive during the week of October 26. The asbestos abatement company had to come back to remove some asbestos in some glue that was found holding up a chalkboard in the room that will be the downstairs service entry. Volleyball season has started and basketball will also begin soon so the bleachers in the existing gym have not been installed yet, as the project will take about a week to complete. The landscaping in the back of the school will be done next spring. Schultz noted that the spaces that students use are all done and functioning so the project isn’t affecting their school day.
A resignation was received from band teacher Tom Blahnik. Blahnik, who has been the band teacher for 45 years, had worked hard to make virtual band a possibility, even putting some of his own money into the endeavor, but the number of students enrolled in band dropped sharply this year so he felt it would be best to let it go. Most of the band students are planning to rejoin once school is back to normal. “He (Blahnik) had a lot of really positive things to say about working with Lanesboro Public Schools,” Schultz said. “He worked hard to get stuff ready for kids this fall.” The board approved Blahnik’s resignation with gratitude for his years of dedication.
Superintendent Schultz reported that the enrollment numbers are up to a total of 391 students for the 2020-21 school year with 206 students enrolled in grades K-6 and 185 in 7-12. “Enrollment has definitely been a positive for us this year,” he commented. Last year, total enrollment was approximately 360.
A resolution was passed to accept the monthly donations; $1,045 was received for the senior class donations, $1,410.55 for scholarship donations, $1,477 for FFA donations, and $100 for the lunch and milk fund.
For MEA weekend, the teachers will be attending a virtual conference rather than an in-person event like they normally do. “I’m hopeful that most of our teachers will join in,” Superintendent Schultz said.
A camera from the National Federation of High Schools, or NFHS, has been installed and is operating in the gym so that all home games can be streamed for free. The camera has an auto-tracking system to follow the game play and does not require a camera operator to run it. A second camera is focused on the scoreboard and will convert the numbers to a scroll on the bottom of the screen. “Mr. (Bret) Klaehn’s done an excellent job of updating the Facebook page for how we can watch those events,” Schultz explained. The home football games will be streamed over Facebook live for free as well.
The next Lanesboro school board meeting will be held on November 19 at 7 p.m.
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