At the October 15 Lanesboro school board meeting, the board approved the retirement of secretary Diane Peterson. Peterson has worked at the school for 35 years. “We want to thank her for her many years of service,” Board member Dave Lawstuen said. The rest of the board also expressed their gratitude for her dedication.
Superintendent Matt Schultz noted that the Lanesboro students are working to raise money for the Harbart/Post family. A penny drive raised over $900, and other fundraisers are currently ongoing as well.
Hiawatha Valley Education District is in the process of interviewing companies to assess HVED’s future facility needs. Currently, HVED occupies spaces at the Kellogg, Caledonia, and Lanesboro schools. All 13 of the school district superintendents recently met to discuss options that would be the best for all of the districts involved and will continue to work with whatever company HVED hires.
The final community Q&A meeting about the proposed facility project will be held on October 24 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. All of the school board members are encouraged to attend to answer questions. Superintendent Schultz noted that in addition to the community meetings and flyers that have been sent out, local residents have also stopped in to the school office to ask questions about the project. He appreciates the interest that the community has shown in the proposed project.
Chris Hanson was approved as head coach for boys basketball and Josh Schreiber as head coach for girls basketball. Patty Brogle was hired for up to 3.5 hours a day to work as a special education paraprofessional in the ASD classroom. Aimee Stetler was approved as the new school secretary.
The board approved the first readings of policy 601 regarding school district curriculum and instructional goals, policy 603 regarding curriculum development, and policy 612.1 regarding development of parent and family engagement policies for Title I programs.
Superintendent Schultz updated the board on the current enrollment numbers, which stand at 348 students, pointing out that the district has trended up a total of 25 in-district students in the last five years. “Hopefully we can keep that trend going,” he said.
As it was his last meeting before he moves out of the district and resigns from the school board, board chairman Dave Ruen was presented with a certificate for his 23 years of service to the Lanesboro school. Ruen had been carrying on a family tradition, as his father also spent many years serving on the Lanesboro school board. He remembered that when he was a child in school, a teacher once told him, “I don’t always agree with your father, but he’s a fair man.”
“If the worst comment is that I don’t always agree with you, but you’ve always been fair and respectful, boy, you’re doing something right,” Ruen said. “And that’s what being a board member is all about. It’s been a great run.”
The next Lanesboro school board meeting will be held on November 15 at 7 p.m.
Leave a Reply