Osakis charter school names wind-up committee, hires attorney

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An ad hoc wind up committee was appointed and an attorney hired for the orderly winding down of the Osakis Lakes Area Charter School (LACS) at the Tuesday, November 13 meeting of the LACS School Board.

Members of the ad hoc committee include Chris Engebretsen, vice chair of the board; Alicia Franzen, LACS business manager; and Phil Grant, LACS director.

A contract for legal services with attorney Cindy Lavorato of the firm of Booth and Lavorato LLC of Minnetonka was approved. Lavorato has experience with charter schools, including winding up other schools, and she will assist getting LACS’ wind-up affairs done in an orderly fashion.

About 20 people attended the Tuesday afternoon meeting, including students, parents, alumni and friends, according to Grant. “They were asking how could we be in this situation?” he said.

The public comments were welcomed and noted, and the meeting continued on with its agenda.

LACS still plans to close about January 17, 2013, but the board and those attending the Tuesday meeting were also informed that the Lakes Area Virtual Academy and the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) program will likely cease on January 17 as well.

Several of the PSEO students will graduate in January before the LACS closes, Grant said.

The school board filled one empty position on the board, by appointing Judi Anderson, former liaison to LACS from Alexandria Technical and Community College, when it was the charter school’s authorizer.

The school board also voted to ask the Lakes Building Corporation, which owns the land west of Osakis that was bought as the site for a new Charter School, to put the land up for sale.

The east classroom building on the LACS campus will also be put up for sale. Two of the LACS buildings are leased from Stan Kirckof.

The LACS School Board will meet a week early in December on Tuesday, December 4 at 4:15 p.m.

Tags: local news, charter school, news