Lakeview to seat new board members

COLUMBUS -- Significant changes to the Lakeview school district are scheduled for 2009, not the least of which is the three new members to the Lakeview Community Schools Board of Education.

The board will welcome Jerry Korte, Tim Mueller and Dan Pabian as the newest board members, conduct election of officers and discuss -- and potentially take action -- regarding preparations for the 2009-10 school year at its meeting Monday.

In March, the board approved a temporary junior high solution to be implemented for the 2009-10 school year to address relocation of Sunrise Elementary School students and overcrowding at Shell Creek Elementary School.

The temporary configuration includes dividing the kindergarten through sixth grade Sunrise students between the Shell Creek and Platte Center elementary schools while the seventh- and eighth-graders in the district attend classes at Lakeview High School, which is currently being added onto to improve science facilities and accommodate the incoming students.

During Monday’s meeting, the board will discuss the junior high planning as staff and administration continue to make arrangements to accommodate the temporary plan.

Also on the agenda, the board is scheduled to take action on the 2009-10 transportation arrangements.

The administration’s proposal includes providing shuttles for students who reside in the district, a proposal that failed to pass in December with a 3-3 vote. Board members Mary Ann Schreiber, Keith Runge and Eugene Goering all voted against the item.

Superintendent Paul Calvert said the item is being reintroduced without changes.

“We have not made a lot of adjustments to what was presented before,” Calvert said. The estimated first year cost to shuttle students could range from $90,000-$210,000, depending on the cost for three buses and fuel prices, he said, with a reduction in expenses to occur after the first year due to costs for the vehicles.

According to previous information presented, the estimated cost for travel reimbursement with the temporary, junior high plan would be $356,000 each year and the cost for contracting a shuttle service would be $137,700 each year.