LAGRANGE – Without comment members of the Lakeland School Board renewed the contract of Superintendent Dr. Eva Merkel and several other administrators for one year.

The board also accepted the resignations of four more teachers and one special education paraprofessional who are headed for other opportunities.

With 12 teacher resignations over the past two months the district only had to lay-off one teacher because of reduction in force. That teacher would be the first called back in an opening is available.

The district will not need to purchase new furniture for the upcoming reconfiguration. It will use some left over money from a bond to pay for signage changes at the schools remaining open, new playground equipment for the Intermediate School, and new bleacher seats for the student section at the Jr-Sr High School gym.

This year’s handbook for Lakeland Jr.-Sr. High School will have new sections addressing vaping and CDB oil.

Assistant Principal Jason Shackow said staying ahead of the vaping industry from a policy standpoint is difficult. He said a draft policy by the American Cancer Society for school districts does a good job of addressing the issue and is included in the handbook.

He said another section addresses CDB oil – which can contain THC. The state has done little to regulate the substance so the presence of CDB oil will be treated as a positive drug test.

Students will wear different colored lanyards to identify them by grade level...7th and 8th graders wearing red...9-12 graders wearing blue.

Shackow went on to say lunches are scheduled so that seventh and eighth graders generally won’t be eating at the same time as high schoolers.

The district suffered some recent storm damage, including lightning damage at Wolcott Mills on April 30th and wind damage to trees and dugouts at Lima-Brighton in May.