The Albert Lea School District has the option to accept a donation of about 18 acres of land from The Nature Conservancy, and Community Education representatives think it would benefit current programming.

Chris Chalmers, director of Community Education, Scott Hanna, environmental coordinator, and a representative from The Nature Conservancy presented the idea to the school board Monday. The conservancy representative said her organization is starting to focus on much larger tracts of land, and are finding ways to gift the smaller tracts of land, like this 18-acre tract west of Highway 13 a few miles south of Interstate 90.

“This property, from what I’ve seen of it, is basically untouched,” Hanna said.

He spoke about the many possibilities to use the land for Community Education programming like compass and orienteering courses and Leave No Trace camping. Hanna said he now often uses Myre-Big Island State Park for these purposes, but there are regulations and fees.

“With this property you can do anything, anytime,” Hanna said. “It’s a sizeable piece of ground.”

The property aligns the abandoned Union Pacific rail corridor that connects Albert Lea with Hartland. The corridor could become a trail for bicycling and walking.

The board wasn’t asked to take any action on the donation Monday evening. Chalmers did want the board to know about the donation because the Shell Rock River Watershed District is planning to start work on a creek that runs through the land, which was part of an agreement between the watershed and The Nature Conservancy. The board agreed it would honor the agreement, which states the watershed is responsible for maintaining the creek and 30 feet on each side of the waterway for 10 years.

Look to the Tribune for more on the story as it develops.

In other action the board:

• Approved borrowing $6 million, which could incur up to $15,000 in interest costs to the district’s general fund. Lori Volz, the district’s director of finance and operations, said the borrowing is necessary because of state budgeting shifts in aid to schools. She said the state did offer $50 more per pupil in aid to help with interest costs.

• Heard from Superintendent Mike Funk about news from around the district. Southwest Middle School will soon receive serving equipment that will keep food at the proper temperatures.

Around the start of the new year all the elementary schools will start offering sandwiches and salads as well as regular lunch menu choices. The district is also considering updating the food service payment software to be compatible with the new student management system, Genesis. Funk also said that with the heating and ventilation upgrade project starting in the summer, the district offices will be moved to Albert Lea High School and the board’s meeting location will change, which will be discussed at a later date.

• Heard from teachers Julie Ulve and Lori Nelson about the district’s transition program. The program focuses on special education students who are between 18 and 21 years old and offers skills to help them gain independence.

The program is part of the Albert Lea School District, but the students meet at Riverland Community College in Albert Lea, and Nelson said the students are enjoying the program and socializing with others their age at the college campus. The main focuses of the program are helping with employment, postsecondary training, community participation, home living and recreation and leisure. The two teachers said they hope more students will want to join the program in the future.

• Heard from Halverson Elementary School Principal Matt Esterby, who recognized the parent teacher organization members who helped with the school’s Walk-a-thon fundraiser, which raised about $12,000.