Tanner Spawn, Business Manager for the Lake Superior School District presented a financial report to the LSSD school board on Tuesday night highlighting the district’s transportation needs. Like everything these days, transportation costs are high for school districts.
The district runs 11 bus routes, 8 in Two Harbors and 3 in Silver Bay. There are currently 22 buses in the district fleet. 11 are used to cover the regular daily routes. 5 are used as trip buses and two buses have lifts to accommodate students who use a wheelchair. There are 4 spare buses in the fleet. The district also has some SUV type vehicles that are used for Special Education and smaller trips.
The regular bus routes cover around 150,000 miles a year. Special Ed routes cover 60,000 miles per year and athletic and extracurricular trips account for around 65,000 miles per year. All told, the district spends around $1.3 million a year on transportation.
Clearly, it takes concerted effort to maintain the bus fleet and to adequately manage the finances necessary to operate it. The district has used ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds, provided by the federal government during the COVID pandemic to help stay on top of maintenance and replacement needs of the fleet. The district is in need of replacing one of the older buses and the Board authorized the purchase of a new bus for next year at a cost not to exceed $160,000 dollars, which is the going rate for such a vehicle.
While the district has money available for this bus purchase, it should be noted that there is concern among administrators and board members about the loss of funds that have federal backing. The impact of loss of federal dollars is unclear at this time but food service and other Title 1 funds could be reduced or discontinued. Lake County residents are encouraged to contact elected officials in DC and ask them to fight for federal funds that benefit our schools.
The Lake Superior School District has joined with Minnesota Education Commissioner Willie Jett and other Minnesota public school districts and signed a letter to the Trump administration informing them that Minnesota public schools are in compliance with State and Federal Civil Rights laws and will not comply with the administrations threats to withhold funding if state schools don’t discontinue DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) practices in schools. That aid, known as Title I funding, is meant to aid schools with high proportions of low income students. It funds roughly 10 percent of Minnesota schools but in some districts it represents about 20 percent. The Trump administration’s demand is unconstitutional and unnecessary and would be particularly harmful to rural school districts
The Board approved an annual resolution to layoff Educational Assistant staff. This move happens every year at this time and as the need for EAs for next year becomes more clear, they will be hired back.
The Board also approved an application to the Minnesota Department of Education for a 4-day school week schedule. Students on a 4-day schedule are required to receive the same number of instructional hours, per year, as those who attend school on a 5-day schedule.
The Board approved a one year contract with the Costin Group for lobbying services in St. Paul. The Costin Group works with other school districts around the state and with municipalities and counties to advocate for the backing from elected officials and keep them apprised of the needs of rural communities and districts. Superintendent Gina Kleive has met with representatives from Costin and sees real value in their advocacy on behalf of the district in regard to a number of upcoming issues, including tax money that can be gained for the district from Helium mining.
Finally, the Board accepted with regret, the retirements or resignations of the following LSSD staff members:
Dan Lodin, 6th grade teacher for 30 years.
Leah Bott, Ag Teacher and Future Farmers of America Advisor for 11 years.
Tom Bott, Special Education Teacher for 31 years.
Callie Lindmeyer, THHS Counselor for 7 years.
The next LSSD School Board meeting is scheduled for May 13th at 6:00 at William Kelley School.
