At the November 21 Lanesboro School Board meeting, Sarah Peterson was nominated to fill the vacant seat on the board left by Lolly Melander. Melander resigned in September after serving on the board for nearly nine years. A roll call vote to appoint Peterson passed unanimously. Steve Storhoff was nominated and appointed as the board treasurer to replace Melander.
The Lanesboro Planning and Zoning Committee recently expressed concern about what will happen with the retaining wall by the school during the upcoming facilities project. So far, no specific plan has been made for the retaining wall, but the project engineers will be looking into different options such as sloping the area instead of using a wall.
Superintendent Matt Schultz reported that the new online sign-ups for the elementary parent-teacher conferences were well received. On November 14, Brenda Pohlman from Fillmore County Public Health gave a presentation to school staff on vaping.
Superintendent Schultz met with a vendor for First Net from AT&T, which is a wireless network for emergency response. “You get a sim card for a phone from them that allows you priority access to the wireless network through them,” Schultz explained. “This would be a dedicated line with priority access no matter where you are.” Currently, the only phones the district has are two Tracfones in the special education department. Schultz will continue to gather more information on the program and bring it to the board for review.
Thanks were extended to Principal Brett Clarke for organizing the Veterans Day Program this year. “The veterans, they absolutely appreciate it,” Schultz said. He also thanked teachers Kristi Ruen and Rochelle Gathje for putting together a fundraiser for the Cords family from Rushford. The elementary school held a penny war starting on November 21, and the high school held a bake sale on November 26.
The Early Childhood Education Committee report recently met to continue their discussion on the social-emotional development focus in the early childhood department. The goal is to keep the language consistent as the children move to different areas and classes within the department.
School board policies 403 regarding discipline, suspension, and dismissal of school district policy, 404 regarding employment background checks, 406 regarding public and private personnel data, and 412 regarding expense reimbursement were reviewed and approved with no changes.
The annual agreement to purchase education services from Hiawatha Valley Education District was approved.
Art teacher Stena Lieb submitted a proposal to the board to begin offering One-Act Play as an extracurricular, competitive activity. Schultz estimated that the transportation costs would be approximately $500-$700 with the total tentative costs for the program coming to $1,000-$1,250. He also suggested adding a $1,000 stipend for Lieb, which would bring the recommended budget to $2,500. The board approved the program and the budget.
The board passed a resolution accepting an anonymous donation for the lunch/milk fund in the amount of $287 and a $20 donation for the coupon books.
The next Lanesboro School Board meeting will be held on December 19 at 7 p.m.
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