The Fairmont Area School Board had a lengthy discussion Tuesday about whether or not to bring high school students back to school full-time next week. High School students are currently in a hybrid model, with half of the student body attending school in person during the first two days of the week and the other half attending school in person the last two days of the week. On Wednesdays, the entire student body does distance learning. The elementary students all came back to school in person last week. 38 students have chosen distance learning at the elementary. 170 more students have chosen distance learning at the Jr. and Sr High School level. The board did not act to change the scheduled plan.

Another topic of discussion was the Referendum Election coming up on Feb.9th in the school district. That is for a 6.73 million dollar bond for a vocational expansion project. Lead planner Jake Tietje, JR,.Senior High School co-principal informed the board about information that has been distributed to the community including a public meeting held last night.

The board approved a motion to move the Feb. 9th regular board meeting to Tuesday Feb. 16th for the purpose of canvassing the election result,and canceling the Feb. 23 meeting.

The board approved the employment of Laura Olsen as a special education paraprofessional and accepted a donation of $50 dollars from Lee Baarts for two room dividers to be used for prom backdrops.