Staff photo by Fritz Busch Due to staffing shortages, the Lafayette Charter School will not open for the 2022-23 school year. The school began in 1999 when a group of community members got together to ensure the community would continue to have a local school.

By Fritz Busch

Staff Writer

LAFAYETTE — Due to a staffing shortage, a tuition-free, public charter school district that focused on agriculture and the importance of rural communities will not open this fall.

Lafayette Charter School served students from Lafayette and surrounding areas, including New Ulm, Gibbon, Fairfax, Winthrop, Courtland and Brownton.

The school began in 1999 when a group of community members came together to ensure their community would continue to have a local school.

“Our cause is to teach today’s students to be good stewards of the land and be educationally prepared to enter today’s society,” according to a history on the school’s website. “With our focus on agriculture, our students learn the important of the rural community around them and how integral it is to everyday life.”

A July 14 letter to parents, guardians, teachers and staff explained the reason to close.

“After identifying the important and mandatory responsibilities needed to support the school for the coming year, and exploring every avenue within the committed time frame, the board has been forced to recognize that the school does not have the necessary staff or financial resources to continue the LCS operation,” the letter stated. “So many families have stepped forward to help save the school, and the members of the board and school staff are so very thankful for your efforts and support.

“This is heartbreaking for all of us, but the board and LCS staff are here to support you in finding a new school for your children. The school board plan will include a formal notification letter to each student’s parents and will contain a contact list and additional information.”

New Ulm Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Bertrang said he contacted the LCS director to see if she needs any assistance working through the school closure.

“For the families, staff and students at Lafayette Charter School, this is a difficult time,” said Bertrang. “We will work with families for information about our programs and support structures available, understanding they have decisions to make about their student’s education in a very short time.”

Bertrang said each school in the district will work with families to get them registered should they decide to enroll at New Ulm Public Schools.

“As we work with potential enrollments, we also are working with New Ulm Bus Lines on bus routes and times for any additional students,” said Bertrang.

GFW School Board Chairman Mike Kuehn said the closure is a marketing opportunity for LCS students living in the GFW district and others to attend the GFW district.

GFW High School Principle Brittney Galetka said a family with LCS students contacted her and are touring the school this week.

LCS featured weekly classes in character education, agriculture, technology, music, art and the library, daily physical education, all-day, everyday kindergarten, on-site greenhouse with agriculture classes, private and fee-based piano lessons and smaller class sizes in which about 70 students learned at their own pace in multi-level classrooms.

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