Lane’s monthly LSC meeting, which took place Thursday, Oct. 9, addressed a range of current topics and problems plaguing Lane and its parents — one of the biggest being funding issues.
Public participation
Mindy Kirsch, a parent on the Debate booster club, requested that the principal and the LSC provide more funding and support to the debate team. Kirsch explained that the Debate team’s booster club is overburdened financially, adding that the amount of money they would need to properly support the team and provide them with outside assistance is beyond the money that they are able to raise.
AFS Intercultural programs visited to advertise the program to the LSC. AFS is a study abroad and foreign exchange program for high school students. The program has exchange programs in over 45 countries and hosts students from 80 countries. They requested that Lane let students know this program is available and that they establish a running foreign exchange program.
Principal Thompson requests fundraising approval
A number of clubs and Lane organizations requested approval for fundraising activities, and all of the 19 entities, including boys swim, football, and the theater program, were unanimously approved by the LSC. Many of the fundraisers were requests to sell concessions at plays and sports games. The LSC also briefly discussed creating a list of businesses that are willing collaborators with Lane clubs and other organizations.
Purchase order of practice ACT
In response to teacher requests, Principal Thompson sought the purchase approval of a practice ACT test for students. Thompson anticipates the practice date to be some time in December. Lane will use the testing company Academic Approach, a more cost effective option at $6.50 compared to College Board’s $17.00 per student. The motion was approved by the LSC and they plan to move forward.
Budget Increase
Lane had a recent discretionary spending increase due to the larger amounts of students than originally anticipated by the district. Principal Thompson said she plans to allocate these funds toward two new staff positions. The first position they plan to open up is a clerk position. Along with the opening of staff positions they plan on providing support to the academic teams at Lane. Thompson said she specifically plans to set aside around $70,000 for Science Olympiad and Debate teams as their budgets got greatly reduced.
Friends of Lane
Jacque Patterson said Friends of Lane have been providing teachers with grants in the amount of $750. Patterson also explained that they have been providing class grants for grades 7-12 ranging from $1,000 to $2,000. They have also taken on several new projects including providing projectors in the auditorium and lunchroom and renewing the staff lounge. Additionally, Patterson confirmed they have officially set a date of May 9, 2025, for the Green and Gold Gala.
Alumni Association
Michelle Weiner, executive director of the Lane Tech Alumni Association, announced the completion of the food pantry delivery, along with the organization of the winter coat drive. The alumni have also given out grants to teachers to help cover transportation costs for field trips. In other news, Principal Thompson was presented with a hexagon pin due to her extensive help with the alumni association.
Student Update
Student Representative Morgan Larvick explained that earlier in the week athletes were called into a meeting to brainstorm ideas for better engagement for the weekly football games. This is due to the increasingly poor behavior exhibited by students in and around Lane, by home and away guests. The students came up with plans and ideas in the meeting. Larvick said she communicated talks of a disciplinary systems. This system would include Lanes administration getting in contact with the administration at other schools and enforcing rules making sure that the negative behavior will not go unpunished.
