SLEEPY EYE — The District 84 Board of Education heard a trapshooting proposal from Larry and Brad Baumgardt Wednesday.

Larry Baumgardt said he recently met with Sleepy Eye High School and St. Mary’s High School athletic directors. If the school boards approve the proposal, he plans to apply to the Minnesota State High School League in order to create teams with boys and girls that have completed gun safety training.

“More than 12,000 students in 329 schools are clay target shooting teams,” Larry Baumgardt said. “It’s really a good deal. One of the safest sports around.”

He said teams would compete at the Sleepy Eye Trap Range on Sunday afternoons and at 6 p.m. Wednesdays.

“There would be no travel unless you go to the state contest at Alexandria,” Larry said. “An FFA trap shooting team is competing here now. No guns would be on school property, ever.”

Brad Baumgardt coaches the Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart team and said it’s the most popular sport in school, with 47 team members.

“It’s a lot of fun. It gives kids confidence to hunt and fish,” Larry Baumgardt said. “We’re fortunate here to have a good trap range and good guys that support it. It’s good for the town.”

The board also:

• Heard Superintendent John Cselovszki report that the school year start went well and elementary teacher goal-setting is completed. He said fall school district enrollment is 617 this year, compared to 653 last year.

Cselovszki said the new gymnasium scoreboards have been installed.

He voiced concern about the possibility of the school district losing 35 students from 20 families that work at the Del Monte plant after the corn pack. The company recently announced plans to close the plant beginning in October and laying off workers in the coming months.

• Unanimously approved certifying the 2019 payable 2020 operating levy at the maximum amount, to be determined by the Minnesota Department of Education later this year.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.