By Sara QuamParents: Partners in Education won’t receive a donation for Luverne Elementary swimming lessons from the Rock County Board of Commissioners. The Board made the decision on the $750 request Tuesday. Commissioner Richard Bakken said it was too complicated to be fair to other school districts in the county that could use the other money."No matter what we do," Bakken said, "we can’t divide it fairly."The request for a donation came from the parents’ group, not the school board or district itself.The tax capacity in the county within the borders of the Luverne district is 60 percent.Rock County also has residents in the Ellsworth, Edgerton, Hills-Beaver Creek and Pipestone school districts, so commissioners wondered if they should split the $750 among the districts. Some districts don’t use the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center for swimming lessons, however. In the end, commissioners said they already subsidize the Pool and Fitness Center every year as half owner in order to keep rates affordable.Hills-Beaver Creek asks parents to pay for lessons but has a fund available so all students can participate, regardless of their contributions.Luverne says that because the swimming lessons are a part of the regular curriculum, it can’t ask families to pay.That is why the Luverne PPIE came in to help with donations. It wanted to pay for the classes for all students because the district was going to save money by cutting swimming lessons from the curriculum.School social workerBonnie Burkett, Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek school social worker, updated the Rock County Board on her work in the newly-created position."I’ve had a few months to get my feet wet," she said.She splits her week between the two schools, working with students who have been identified as needing a little extra help.Burkett works in groups or with students individually on study skills, mental health issues, depression, self esteem, forming friendships or other basic problems students may encounter.Burkett said, "I’ve built a pretty good rapport with most of the students."A part of her job is connecting students with other services available in the community that they can use after they are through the school system. Family Services Director Randy Ehlers said the new social worker helps with early intervention and will probably save the county money in the long term.