, 
A website made the purchase of two buses for Luverne Public Schools as easy as a few mouse clicks.
For the first time, the district personnel used the state education department’s school bus purchasing program.
Business Manager Marlene Mann said during the Feb. 4 school board meeting that the department’s website allows districts to click on various bus features and submit the information to various vendors in the program.
“It is called the Minnesota State School Bus Cooperative Purchasing, where the state goes out and does the bidding for us and we can purchase from them,” she said.
Cost for the two 2016 Thomas buses less the $7,000 in trades of a 1996 and 2002 models was at $97,781 per bus. The buses were the same costs as last year’s replacement buses but the process was completed in less time and paperwork, Mann said.
Calendar for 2016-17 school year finalized
Board members also accepted the second draft of the 2016-17 school calendar with two revisions from the previous reading on Jan. 28.
Those revisions moved two early dismissals closer to holiday breaks, Thanksgiving (Nov. 23) and Easter (April 13, 2017).
The upcoming school year will begin Sept. 6 and end May 26, 2017.
Seven breaks and seven early dismissals are planned.
School will not be in session Oct. 20-21 (MEA break), Nov. 24-25 (Thanksgiving), Dec. 26-Jan. 2 (winter break), Jan. 16 (in-service), Feb. 20 (Presidents Day), March 30-31 (in-service), and April 14 (Easter).
Besides Nov. 23 and April 13, other early dismissals will be Nov. 4, Dec. 23, Jan. 20, March 24, and May 26 in the 2016-17 school year.
In other business, the board:
•Approved the retirement request from Greg Antoine, science teacher and tennis coach, effective at the end of the current school year.
•Changed the planned Thursday, June 23, board meeting to Tuesday, June 28.