A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Esko school district officials and representatives from Essentia Health cut the ribbon on the new Esko Fitness Center, which is owned by the school district but will be managed by Essentia, which will also offer therapy and training services there.
Much of the weight equipment especially was personalized for the Esko school.
More than 100 people turned out Monday to tour the recently completed Esko Fitness Center.
The response was very positive, said Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer.
A large two-story blue and gray structure attached to the south side of the school building, the space contains a variety of fitness equipment and lots of natural light, including a view of the baseball field outside.
Some of the equipment is personalized. Bright blue weight benches say "SISU" in gold lettering while the weights themselves say "Esko strength" along with the identifying weight, blue letters on black. Shelving units proclaim Esko Sports Alliance above rows of medicine balls and more weights.
The school district is partnering with Essentia Health, which will manage the 4,500-square-foot fitness center and also work out of two exam rooms to be used by physical therapy patients and trainers. The space is available to Esko students, staff and community residents. Students can use the fitness center at no charge, and school staff get a discount, so the fee will be only $10 a month.
"It's beneficial for both the district and Essentia," board chair Jerry Frederick said.
The district held its first construction meeting regarding the new flexible learning space that will fill the old fitness center, with demolition starting next week, Fischer said.
In other matters Monday, board members unanimously approved a budget for the next school year with a deficit of $164,000. But Fischer said the budget is tentative for now, and numbers will be more solid once school starts in the fall.
"I still think it's a healthy budget for us going forward and allows us to keep all of our current programming and staffing patterns as is, with the potential that we could pick up some students this summer," Fischer said.
