The Albert Lea School Board and administration have decided to request a meeting with the school board and administration of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva school district on inter-district transfer requests after a student from the Albert Lea area requested to transfer to a New Richland school.

According to Albert Lea Superintendant Dave Prescott, each district usually pays for the students who reside in their district. New Richland has not paid for students to transfer into the Albert Lea district many times, so members of the Albert Lea board decided to wait on a decision on the request.

&uot;All we’re looking for is reciprocity and equal treatment,&uot; said Prescott. &uot;In the past few years we’ve had to deal with this in two or three cases.&uot;

Prescott said he hopes a meeting would resolve these problems.

&uot;What the board would like to know is, could this be more fair?&uot; said Ken Petersen, board chairman. The board hopes to schedule the meeting soon.

Other school news:

– Juniors and seniors at Albert Lea High school will have many more options to get college credit from courses in their school this school year.

&uot;We’ve been gearing up all year to really expand our course options,&uot; said Judy Knudtson, the director of cirriculum for the district. &uot;It looks like more than 300 students may be able to take part in this.&uot;

Students will get college credit from Riverland Community College after taking advanced-level courses, as well as many other course options which will be taught by teachers who have the qualifications to teach college courses.

The program costs are nothing extra because the college is doing nothing but giving credits and the high school is still teaching the courses.

&uot;We are very excited about this opportunity,&uot; said Knudtson.

– The board approved a levy increase of 0.32 percent, the maximum amount possible to levy for the payable levy for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.

The levy increase raises the total from all levies from $3,406,494 to $3,417,451.

The levy increase is not remarkable any longer, according to Mark Stotts, director of finances and operations, because the state has taken over local general levy funds.

– Donations were given to the Albert Lea School district by the Albert Lea Public Schools Education Foundation.

A $23,883.75 check was presented by Mike Moore, treasurer of the foundation, to Lilah Aas, co-chairperson of the CAPP (Comprehensive Arts Plannings Program) committee. The money will go toward art projects in the district.

The foundation’s president, Dr. Steve Thorn, also presented to the board an $850 check for the continuation of the wall sculpture project at the high school.

The money for the checks came from donations. Moore said, &uot;I should point out that many many of the donations that came in were from senior citizens and I just would like to extend our appreciation to them for their generousity.

– Permission was given for a trip to New Orleans for the Albert Lea High School concert choir and orchestra.

The trip, according to Dianne Heaney, the choir director, will take place this March and will include a wide variety of tours through New Orleans, the swamps of Louisiana, the French Quarter and more.

Students will raise money for the trip on their own.