The Knoxville School Board met in regular session yesterday.
The board heard from representatives of Mid-American Energy during the public comments period opposed to the power purchase agreement with Red Lion Renewables, stating that they were deliberately left out of the planning process and the board was making a financial mistake by entering the agreement. The administration maintained their recommendation to enter into the agreement, and the board unanimously approved for Red Lion Renewables to install solar panels on school buildings at no cost to the school district and buy power at a fixed rate for the next twenty years.
The board approved a proposal for West Elementary to enter into the Community Eligibility Provision program, which will allow students to eat breakfast and lunch for free. The proposal was to originally cover West, Northstar, and the Middle School, before new data showed the school district would lose money and the board pulled out of the program. The board also approved the student handbook, and three open enrollment applications, while denying one.