The USD 257 Board of Education will take a trip down memory lane Monday when members host their regularly scheduled meeting at LaHarpe City Hall.
The building used to be LaHarpe Elementary School.
The district closed the school in 2009 and donated the building to the city, which made it into a community building and city hall.
“It is a special opportunity for our school board to go back and speak with the community of LaHarpe,” USD 257 Superintendent of Schools Brian Pekarek said. “Every community is important to our district.”
The idea to hold the meeting in LaHarpe came from the recent busing issue.
When LaHarpe parents whose children attend Marmaton Valley petitioned for a bus pickup to be moved inside LaHarpe city limits, concern rose that USD 257 would lose more students to Marmaton Valley.
“We became very cognizant of our school district. LaHarpe is still USD 257,” Pekarek said.
The school board is hoping for a large turnout. Parents and community members will have a chance to speak at a public forum if they wish, Pekarek said.
“It gives us a good chance to go see the old school and talk to community members,” Pekarek said.
ALSO ON the board’s agenda will be online surveys.
Tuesday, an online survey will go on USD 257’s website concerning “how we can better serve the community or ways to save money,” Pekarek said.
When the survey goes live, Pekarek plans to conduct an automated mass phone call to USD 257 parents asking them to fill it out.
“It’s about building good communication,” he said.
Enrollment figures will be addressed at the meeting along with a presentation from Scott Stanley, director of operations, on transportation and maintenance.
