By Lori Ehde
When the budget axe fell this spring, Luverne High School lost its auto body and auto mechanics vocational programs.
The classes no longer exist, but with a little creativity and participation from local businesses, two senior students are still getting their hands greasy while padding their academic rŽsumŽs.
Jeremy De Kam, Luverne, is working an apprenticeship with Kevin Aaker at Luverne Body Shop, and Mark Brockberg, Hardwick, is working under Rich Dreckman at Align Tech and Tire.
High School Principal Gary Fisher said these two students were particularly at a loss when the program was cut, because they had met most of their other requirements for graduation.
Besides that, funding had also been cut for the School to Work program in business education.
"I said if they could find a business in the community to offer the opportunity for them to explore the work environment, then we'd see what we could do," Fisher said. "They did the legwork and talked to the businesses."
From there, insurance issues and parameters for grades were worked out.
"Grades will be based on the employers' view of the job they did and things like their work ethic," Fisher said.
He will review the students' work with the employers at the end of each quarter to determine their grades.