Lake Superior School Board Considering Solar Power

In 2021, the Minne­sota State Legislature established the Solar For Schools grant pro­gram, administered by the Minnesota Depart­ment of Commerce Di­vision of Energy Re­sources. The program is designed to promote the installation of so­lar energy systems on Minnesota schools and, since January of 2022, 92 schools around the State have been awarded grants to install solar arrays. The Lake Superior School District has been conducting a fea­sibility study to look at costs for such a system and cost savings with regard to the dollars the District expends on energy consumption. 40% of grant funding for the program comes from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and 40% comes from the State of Min­nesota. The estimated cost for the system that is under consideration is around $1,400,000. If LSSD were to be awarded a grant, the District would need to invest around $340,000 of its own money to bring the plan to fruition. If this plan were to move forward, the annual savings to the District’s electric bill is estimated to be $57,000 per year with that amount dropping to around $40,000 per year over the 20 year lifespan of the solar equipment. At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Board voted to submit the feasibility study to the Minnesota Depart­ment of Commerce. Stay tuned for further developments.

The Board approved recommendations for the following additions to the LSSD teaching staff.

Annie Seaberg, Special Education Teacher at THHS.

Erika Johnston, Life Science Teacher at THHS.

Sarah James, Math Teacher at THHS.

Alexis Stainbrook, Ti­tle 1 Teacher at Min­nehaha.

Annmarie Ulvestad, 4th Grade Teacher at Minnehaha.

Rachel Jackson, As­sistant Principal at THHS.

Also approved was the addition of a Special Education teaching position at William Kelley School. Con­tracts were approved for Bruce Remme, Community Education Director, for Comput­er Technicians Mitch Wright and Angela Johnson, and for Peg­gy Torgerson as Finan­cial Assistant.

Some months ago, teaching staff from the Music Department proposed a trip for band students to Las Vegas and Los Ange­les for March of 2025. The proposal was ta­bled while the board sought more informa­tion about logistics for the trip. Those ques­tions have been an­swered and the Board voted in support of the trip moving forward. Staff will be working with a company that has coordinated class trips in the past. Fur­ther details about the trip will be available to interested band stu­dents and their fami­lies in the near future.

Finally, the Board voted to enter into an agreement with the Minnesota Cooper­ative High School Sports Association. This agreement will al­low girls from William Kelley High School and from Two Harbors High School to com­pete together as one soccer team, represent­ing the LSSD.

The next School Board meeting is scheduled for August 13th at 6PM and will be held at Two Harbors High School.