After a contentious open forum portion of the School Board meeting last wednesday, the board handled its elections, and several other pieces of business. For the sake of brevity in this report, the open forum is covered in more detail in another article in this issue.
After the open forum and the approval of the agenda, high school Athletic Director Jeff Meyer spoke to the board about the Mental Health Awareness Night which was held at the CGD high school on November 28th. "We just had like a vendor fair," Meyer told the board, describing how there were booths set up by service providers with informational brochures and resources available for the public. "We had many, many good comments from the vendors," Meyer said. "They were busy all the night and the people that went through and talked to these people were very happy they were there, and many didn't know the resources were available. So it was a very good night." And Meyer also noted that another event is in the works for 2023.
Then the board moved on to their organizational meeting. First Elizabeth Severson was nominated for board President, and then elected, and promptly sworn in. Next Troy Seaba was nominated, elected, and sworn in as Vice President of the board. Susan Toftey was nominated to, elected, and sworn in as Treasurer. Next, following the same pattern, Anita Frye was nominated, elected and sworn in as Board Secretary.
Next the board approved Malloy Law Firm for local legal matters, and Ahlers & Coone, P.C. for legal issues specific to school law and employee matters. After which the board approved setting Depository Limits as $15 million with First Citizens Bank, $3 million with First State Bank, and $1 million with Bankers Trust. And then the board approved single signature withdrawals for seed money, for authorized signers. Following that business, the board approved the Wright County Monitor as the district's official newspaper for publications.
Board committee assignments are: Elizabeth Severson and Troy Seaba, Building & Grounds. Elizabeth Severson, Wright Co. Conference Board. Kelly Kirstein, Comprehensive School Improvement. Elizabeth Severson, Legislative Network Rep. Troy Seaba, IASB Delegate and Alternate IASB Delegate. Megan Ring and Cindy Dorn, Board Policy Committee. Troy Seaba and Megan Ring, Negotiations – Certified Staff. Elizabeth Severson and Cindy Dorn, Negotiations – Non Certified. Kelly Kirstein, Wellness Committee. Cindy Dorn & Alt. Elizabeth Severson; Insurance Committee. Megan Ring and Kelly Kirstein, Educational Committee. No one was assigned to the Franklin, Hancock, and Humboldt County Conference Board.
From there the council moved on to the Superintendent's Report. Superintendent Nelson made an upbeat presentation to the board giving them a review of the results of the Education Data forms regarding students on Individualized Educational Plans (IEP). Nelson told the board that 96% of IEP students are graduating with a diploma, which Nelson said was the result of "working with kids from preschool all the way through." Nelson also identified an area for improvement, noting that IEP students are missing a larger percentage of classes. The numbers, Nelson said, are "about 5% below where we want to be."
Nelson then showed the board a video from the unique perspective of an aerial drone that gave a bird's eye view of the progress of the update to the middle school gymnasium. The video showed the construction is well underway, with flooring in and baskets up, and bleachers waiting to be installed. Nelson also promised a progress report regarding training district employees attending a conference in Minneapolis would receive at the next meeting, in January 2023.
The board then took care of some additional business, approving the consent agenda, the minutes from the November meeting, and payment of monthly bills. They also approved a review of policies 503.1, 503.2, 503.2A, 503.3, and 503.4 relating to government, organizations, student initiated organizations, publications and social events, respectively.
Next the board approved the resignation of head softball coach Steve TerHark, effective immediate, and approved contract revisions with Martha Slagle and Jessica Nall, who will receive $2,000 more as a stipend for special education. And the board approved payment of $215 per day to Kate McNulty and Shannon Brooks, for special education as long term subs, starting January 3rd through the end of the fiscal year.
Then the board handled seven open enrollment applications, and monthly reports were shared with the board – which can be examined during normal business hours at the district office – before setting the next meeting for Wednesday, January 11, 2023 at 8 A.M. There will also be a work session with IASB that day, from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M.
All votes were unanimous, 4-0.
