District 518 makes progress on Legacy Wall; moves into administrative building

WORTHINGTON — As the school year speeds toward its conclusion, the Operations Committee of the District 518 Board of Education received a progress report Tuesday on the school’s many ongoing projects.

“We have roughly 20 people who have participated at this point,” said Superintendent John Landgaard of the district’s Trojan Legacy Wall. “I would like to see that at least doubled or more.”

The monument, paid for with a $50,000 donation from 1977 Worthington High School graduate Rick Brandl, will be built at the entrance to Trojan Field, with granite markers emblazoned with the names of individual, family or business donors.

The markers cost $500, $1,500 or $4,000, with all funds going toward District 518 extracurriculars, including music, sports and activities like robotics, knowledge bowl and speech.

Construction on the wall will begin after June 1, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating its completion in the fall, Landgaard said.

For more information on the Trojan Legacy Wall, or to purchase a marker, contact Anne Foley at (507) 372-1204 or anne.foley@isd518.net .

Image courtesy of District 518

Other projects include:

• The renovation and expansion of the District Office, located at 1117 Marine Ave., is largely complete. Administrators and staff began moving into the building on Monday.
• Asbestos abatement is occurring at West Elementary, and it is expected to be complete in mid-May, with demolition to follow in May or early June. Its location will be seeded with grass when demolition is finished.
• Two garages at West Elementary will be moved to the old horseshoe pit area near the District Office and Worthington High School.
• The first phase of replacing the Worthington Middle School parking lot will begin in June.
• The gym wall at the Intermediate School will be installed in June.
• Community Education, the Intermediate School and the new storage shed will all have landscaping work done this spring.
• Some of the roof leaks at the Learning Center were fixed, but some remain, and District 518 still has the option of pursuing legal action or claiming bonds to fix the problem. The process has been ongoing since the building was completed in 2019.
  

  

  Kari Lucin / The Globe

In other news Tuesday, the committee:

• Agreed to send a tax abatement request from Joseph and Angela Joswiak to the full board for approval.
• Learned the district had more than $100,000 in unpaid teacher leave this school year, including medical leave, maternity leave and leave for other purposes, such as vacations. That amount was deducted from salaries, and though the teachers don’t get paid for unpaid leave, it can still result in costs for the district, particularly given the shortage of substitute teachers.
• Approved a phased retirement for District Accountant Patrick Morphew, who will work less than 20 hours per week or less than 40 hours in a pay period, with salary only and no benefits, for no longer than five years. Morphew's plan is to work part-time for one year. The matter will go before the full board for approval.