Bus driver positions filled

Tim Engel, a district manager of Palmer Bus Service, spoke to the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton School Board on the district’s bussing situation on Monday, August 15. He shared he has found four of the five drivers required for the school district’s bus routes. “One is fully licensed, and the other three are working on getting them,” he added.

Engel filled the fifth position temporarily by adding two substitutes who have committed to driving throughout most of September.

With everything going a bit smoother for Palmer Bus Service, Engel was happy to report that they wouldn’t have to combine any routes at this time. “We will be able to pick up where we left off in May,” he stated.

He requested to change one route on the north end of town, dropping a stop at the corner of Meadow and Savannah lanes and moving a stop at Meadow and Prairie lanes to the corner of Prairie Lane and West Elysian Lake Road.

“This will make it so we save about 15 to 20 minutes a day on our route,” Engel said. “That adds up throughout the school year.”

He also pointed out that the Meadow-Savannah stop were within the school district’s one-mile walk radius. “It’s the only stop that is within a half-mile range of the school.”

Board member Tim Johnson was worried at first about moving the Meadow-Prairie stop to a busy road like West Elysian Lake Road. “That corner doesn’t have many houses,” he stated. “It can get pretty cold and windy out there in the winter.”

However, board member Tim Oelke thought it wouldn’t hurt to implement those changes. “We can try it out and see what happens,” he stated. “We can always change it back to this way if we don’t like it.”

Superintendent Update

Superintendent Jeremy Erler updated the school board on the construction updates around the school. Despite the project of replacing the air conditioning around the school lagging behind, Erler said they are making progress with it every day.

“We still haven’t received our chiller and air exchanger,” he added. “We won’t be able to get it in time for the school year.”

Because of that, the district is looking into get a temporary chiller and air exchanger from United Rental at no additional expense to it. “It will be an expense to our contractors since it was their responsibility to get those here in the first place.”

The school district is also installing new ceilings throughout the elementary and high schools, with Erler noting that the preschool and kindergarten classrooms passed inspection. It is also finishing waxing of floors and will be moving everything back to classrooms by the weekend.

Other Business

The school updated its Covid-19 Preparedness Plan for the 2022-23 school year. Erler stated that the plan was fully updated until last Friday when the CDC made a few changes to its guidelines. “Minnesota hasn’t accepted those changes yet,” he explained. “But one they do, we’ll make those changes in our document also.”

He clarified that only minor changes were made in quarantine measures and testing.

The board also approved substitute pay rate increases for the 2022 school year. The pay rate increases were heavily based on what the Mankato School District decided for pay increases. The only deviation from their plan was the pay of substitute teachers, which was originally $150 a day.  The board agreed to only increase pay by $15 instead of $50, which Mankato’s district decided.

“$15 is how big of an increase Waseca is doing for their substitute teachers,” Erler explained. “I think we should do the same increase to still be competitive.”

Erler then brought up the topic of reusing graduation gowns. “I’ve had many people mention this topic to me, and the discussion has gone back and forth,” he stated. “My concern is once we get them after one night of graduation, zippers may get torn and we can’t replace them, among other issues."

Board member Laura Seys mentioned that one topic of discussion is providing the choir with robes to use for concerts. It’s one way the school district could reuse the gowns. “The problem is if the district buys them, colors change if you’re not using the same company,” she added.

Board member Tim Oelke agreed it could cause potential issues, such as having to buy in bulk. “I think it’s worth looking into,” he stated.

The final item on the agenda was to accept a $500 donation - with many thanks - from the Steele-Waseca Coop Electric. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.