It was a discussion members of the Osakis School Board didn’t want to have – deciding what to do with an open seat following the death of school board member Chris George.

An Osakis native, George, 49, passed away Saturday, Dec. 5, after a heart attack.

At a special school board meeting Monday, Dec. 21, Superintendent Randy Bergquist told school board members, “I know this isn’t easy for anyone to talk about.”

And it wasn’t. But after a short discussion, school board member Greg Faber made a motion to have Genny LeBrun fill the open position. LeBrun currently sits on the school board, but would have been done come January as she did not refile for her position.

However, LeBrun thanked the board members for the opportunity and said it would be an honor to fill George’s seat. She will fill the position until a special election can be held on or before Nov. 2, 2021.

The school board did not set a date for the special election.

Moving forward with tennis courts, bus garage

After listening to presentations from two firms – RA Morton and InGensa – on two projects the school district is considering, the school board decided to move forward with RA Morton.

The projects include replacing an existing bus garage with a new facility that would house 15 buses, three vans, wash and maintenance bays and support space, along with replacing two tennis courts and adding an additional three courts.

There is still some additional information the district is gathering and working on, such as possible land acquisition, but Bergquist was given the green light to be able to start working with the construction management firm.

RA Morton is out of St. Cloud and will be working with Design Tree , an engineering and land surveying firm with offices in Alexandria, St. Cloud and the Twin Cities.

The school district has worked with RA Morton in the past and were pleased with their work.

School board member Tom Grundman said the company did a great job and were well organized. He also said the district was pleased with their work.

The district is hoping that the projects can be completed by the start of the 2021-22 school year.