The Lanesboro School Board met on September 16. Board members Sarah Peterson and Steve Snyder were not present. Superintendent Matt Schultz reported that the 2021-22 school year was off to a good start. “It’s nice to be in a finished building,” he commented. Transportation is also going well with buses running at full capacity. The school is still in need of bus drivers though. Superintendent Schultz noted that he has had a difficult time finding substitutes for teachers and aides this year. There are 420 students currently enrolled at Lanesboro which is a record number for the district. That has presented some challenges, but nothing that the school can’t handle. “The staff has been very flexible and been able to meet the needs of the kids,” Schultz said.
The monthly revenue was reported at $866,994.89 and the expenditures at $145,603.15. The construction bills this month came to a total of $275,521.02. There is approximately $93,000 left to pay for the facilities project.
The HVAC system has been having some issues for the last week with either turning off or switching over to heat. Valor Mechanical has been at the school almost every day working to figure out the problem and how to fix it.
Board member Christine Troendle gave the HVED report. HVED is currently looking into the possibility of purchasing the Tandeski Center, which is a surplus building on the southeast campus of Minnesota State College in Winona. Troendle noted that the tax implications of the potential purchase should be minimal and that the HVED board seemed very excited about the opportunity. All 13 of the school boards from the southeastern Minnesota districts that work with HVED will need to agree to the purchase before it can move forward.
Tara Hanson was hired as the main office secretary, Audriana Rebmann as an office secretary, Frankie Kohn as a high school special education paraprofessional, and Sue Moen as an elementary school special education paraprofressional. Abby Drake, Shelisa Culbertson, and Hannah Glor were hired to work in the daycare. A resignation from office secretary Denise Drew was accepted.
The board reviewed the proposed tax levy and certified it at the maximum amount. It was noted that it can always be lowered in December when it’s finalized, but it cannot be raised. Currently, it is set at a 1.07% increase over last year, at a total amount of $11,500 due to the higher number of students at Lanesboro. “Certifying the maximum now gives us the most options,” Troendle commented.
A resolution to accept $3,300 in general donations, $275 in scholarship donations, and $100 in lunch/milk fund donations was approved.
December 23 was approved as a half day, dismissing at 11:32 a.m.
The DOT inspected the school’s buses on the first day of school and determined that bus #9 could not be driven on the road anymore due to bubbling of the rubber flooring. The bus is used to transport student athletes to and from activities as it is a larger bus and has under bus storage. The cost of a new bus with the same specifications comes to $111,000. The new bus needs to be built and will be ready in February. The purchase was approved.
A Memorandum of Understanding was approved allowing a teacher to move up to a different lane. There was a misunderstanding with some wording in the teacher contract. The teacher in question paid to get her master’s degree with the understanding that she would be moved up to a different lane, but Superintendent Schultz realized that she was actually supposed to have gotten 15 credits above the master’s degree. The MOU stated that moving the teacher up was a one-time thing.
The next Lanesboro School Board meeting will be held on October 21 at 7 p.m.
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