Lanesboro School Board Approves Policy 404

After tabling the issue for several months, the Lanesboro School Board unanimously approved Policy 404, Employment Background Checks, at their June 12 meeting. The board used the MSBA suggested policy, but added procedures to the policy. In the adopted procedures, they stipulated that the teaching staff will annually respond to some questions that are the same as they are asked when they first become certified teachers. Non-certified staff will answer two questions annually – Have you been convicted of a crime? Are any criminal charges pending against you?

Volunteers will now have a new application agreement to complete, possibly online. This agreement must be completed before volunteering at the school; it will be in effect for a year. Since this is new, the school will remind possible volunteers to complete the form before school starts this fall and again throughout the year.

RFP to Provide Food Service

The first RFP (request for proposals) was posted in the local paper on June 7 and was sent out directly to interested parties. In order to contact likely vendors, Superintendent Matt Schultz contacted neighboring schools using food service providers for suggestions. On June 14, there will be a second posting in the paper.

June 21 will be a proposal meeting at the school. The RFPs are due July 5. They will be opened and scored by the  committee which will recommend one to the board.

The board will be able to make a decision at their July meeting; at that time a one year contract will be offered.

Public Comment

During the public comment period of the meeting, Tamara DeGarmo spoke for Kayla Hovland to thank the board and Schultz for all the work they had been doing.

Commenting that while she appreciated the newsletters Schultz had been sending out, DeGarmo asked for the online access as well so people could view the meetings.

Clean School Bus Grant

The newly awarded Clean School Bus Grant was discussed by the board. The grant is for $690,000 to purchase two electric buses. Costs associated with receiving the grant for the school would be the purchase of two Level 2 chargers at a cost of $18,000 each and installation costs for the chargers.

By purchasing the buses through SSC (Southeast Service Cooperative) a $5,000 savings per bus could be realized. This would cover most of the expense for the school.

Activity buses would still need to be diesel since they often travel farther than the range of the electric buses. The electric buses would come from Lion Electric Company of Illinois. Lion is the only company to manufacture a bus specifically designed to be an electric bus rather than refitting a diesel bus to become an electric bus.

The buses would come with a diesel heater; this is done so the issue of losing charge from heating the bus would not affect bus performance during the winter. The school would be able to keep the buses being replaced by the electric buses until 2026. There is a requirement that the electric buses must remain in the school’s fleet for five years.

Steve Snyder felt LP powered buses would be a better clean bus alternative. The board asked about maintenance of the buses. Currently, Lanesboro has someone who takes care of their buses. No one would have the experience to do so for the electric buses. Rochester School has gotten a grant for 25 electric buses; Lion has assured customers that they would ensure nearby service.

While the Clean School Bus Grant did offer a $25,000 grant for LP buses, this would not cover the total cost of the buses which are estimated to cost $125,000.

Schultz reported that there is a concern that LP buses would not have sufficient power to get up the hills on the bus routes. No decision was made on the acceptance of the grant.

Other Business

In other business, the board:

• Approved a new three year contract with Superintendent Schultz;

• Approved the revised 2023-2024 budget; although the general fund balance was at a negative $122,016 in part due to the hiring of two additional SPED teachers and an elementary teacher, Schultz noted that SPED funding to be received yet would cover much of the deficit;

• Approved the proposed 2024-2025 budget;

• Raised preschool rates to $100 per month for 3-4 year old ½ days and $125 per month for 4-5 year old ½ days; this rate had not been changed since preCovid and is still the lowest in the area;

• Set July 30–August 13 as dates for filing affidavits for school board candidacy; the positions currently held by Troendle, Peterson, and Holmen will be up for election;

• Approved the hiring of Jill Pigott, secondary math teacher; Anthony Schwartz, head maintenance; Gracie Kupietz and Alysha Mohs, elementary teachers.