Esko teachers, students embrace return to 'normal'

At their first meeting of the new school year, the Esko school board heard good news from district administrators.

Principals Greg Hexum and Brian Harker told the board Monday, Sept. 12 that there is excitement in the building like never before. With a handful of new teachers, and classrooms being somewhat back to normal after the height of the pandemic, students arrived eager to learn.

Superintendent Aaron Fisher said enrollment numbers have remained similar to last year, despite the predicted reduction in numbers this year.

All told, 1,265 Eskomos started school the week of Sept 6. There were six more students expected to start in October due to families moving into the newly completed apartment development in Esko.

In other business, Fisher brought another change in meal pricing to the board, after first asking for a 10-cent increase in student meal prices at the August meeting.

Fisher explained that Esko is one of the few schools in Minnesota whose lunch program is able to operate in the black. Because of this, the district asked for special permission to use some of its reserve funds to lower lunch prices back to what costs were during the 2021-22 school year.

The district’s request was approved for student meals, but not for adult meals. The change will set student breakfast costs at $1.10, K-6 lunches at $2.30, and grades 7-12 lunches at $2.40.

The board also approved a change in the district’s 2022 emergency guide, the safety plan teachers utilize and keep with them in case of an emergency situation.

After the emergency lockdown last spring, some staff and parents voiced concerns and suggested changes to make future situations run more smoothly. The main change was clarification of reunification procedures. The guide will also assign roles to specific staff members in case of emergency. Esko staff will begin working through the plan in the upcoming weeks.

With the start of a new school year, the board acknowledged the start of the fall sports season.

The board discussed the sportsmanship initiative created by Esko’s athletic director, Chad Stoskopf, for this school year. Board members shared comments that community members have made to them about athletes reading expectations of sportsmanship to the crowd prior to games.

Fisher shared that he and the principals have noticed better behavior from fans and students alike.

“It isn’t something that changes overnight, but we are getting ahead of the problem,” said board chair Jerry Frederick.

The board was expected to discuss the district’s annual levy at the meeting, as the maximum levy figure is due by Sept. 30.

But, according to Fisher, unknown results of some grant applications have left the district unable to put together a levy that he felt comfortable with the board voting on. Because of this, the board will host a special meeting at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Sept 26, to vote on the preliminary levy.

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Candidate forum

There are seven candidates running for three open seats on the Esko school board in the upcoming general election. The district will host a forum for the public to attend and ask questions of the candidates at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 11 in the Esko High School theater.