REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
SARTELL-ST. STEPHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
APRIL 20, 2015
DISTRICT CENTER BOARD ROOM
The regular school board meeting of Independent School District 748 was called to order at 7 p.m. by Krista Durrwachter, chair. Members present: Durrwachter, chair; Michelle Meyer, vice chair; Pam Raden, clerk; Mary McCabe, director; Jason Nies, director; Pat Marushin, director and Jeff Schwiebert, superintendent.
A motion was made by Meyer and seconded by Nies to approve the agenda. All in favor. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Nies and seconded by Marushin to approve consent items a-c with the amendment made by McCabe and seconded by Meyer to add the resignation of Charlie Bakker, Sartell High School assistant principal, June 30, 2015 below:
a. Minutes of the regular school board meeting held on March 16, 2015 with the edit of Mary Joe Peckskamp last day of service May 14, 2015.
b. Checks in the amount of $1,822,899.59 as presented:
General Fund 1,421,478.29
Food Service Fund 118,576.88
Transportation Fund 144,055.84
Community Service Fund 30,961.14
Capital Expenditure Fund 107,102.54
Summer Rec Agency Fund 724.90
Check numbers 159583 to 159933
Receipts in the amount of $4,080,581.05 as presented:
General Fund 3,839,960.49
Food Service Fund 133,563.59
Transportation Fund 22,432.21
Community Service Fund 48,767.02
Debt Service Fund 31,269.74
Summer Rec Agency Fund 4,588.00
Receipts 40858 to 40955
Wire transfers in the amount of $5,926.08 as presented:
General Fund 1,925.64
Food Service Fund 3,181.73
Community Service Fund 818.71
Wire transfers 201400049-201400053
c. Accept the following donations: Michelle Meyer, SHS, camera, photography; Sabres All Sport Booster Club, SHS, $1,364.53, Spring strength coach
Accept the resignation of Joe Reber, Sartell Middle School, maintenance supervisor, April 13, 2105; Adam Thiel, Sartell Middle School, custodian, April 10, 2015; Mark Huber, District Office, cleaner, April 6, 2015; Dan Lozinski, all locations, substitute custodian, April 6, 2015; Charlie Bakker, Sartell High School, assistant principal, June 30, 2015. Accept the retirements of Jean Muntifering, Pine Meadow Elementary, elementary teacher, June 3, 2015; Karen Kuschel, Pine Meadow Elementary, dishwasher, June 3, 2015; Anna Mae Trobec, Oak Ridge Elementary, dishwasher, Aug. 20, 2015.
Student Representative Report: Mac Nies, student representative
- Music in the Schools will be wrapping up this week with Kindergarten performances
- MCA testing is happening across the district for our third- to eighth-grade students and students at the high school
- Both ORE and PME will have family picnics on May 28
- Third- and fourth-grade students will have the opportunity to try out for 101 Dalmatians in cooperation with GREAT Theatre
- Book fairs will be held at both Pine Meadow and Oak Ridge
- Elementary Art Fairs will be held on May 7
- SCSU Math Contest: 97 seventh- and eighth-grade students participated April 9 at St. Cloud State University
- Seventh-grade Results:
- First-place Team: Janagan Ramanathan, David Zhang, Jacob Wieland
- Seven students scored in the top 5 percent
- Five students scored in the top 10 percent
- Individual Results: two students tied for second, and one in 9th place
- Eighth-grade Results:
- First-place Team: Mahannad Alkhatib, Cindy Zhang, Alissa Teigland and Mack Sathre
- Seven students scored in the top 5 percent
- Three students scored in the top 10 percent
- Battle of the Books: Held on Wednesday, April 15 for fifth- to eighth-graders
- Fifth- and sixth-grade soccer started this week with more than 130 students registered
- On Friday, April 10, SMS held the fifth- and sixth-grade activity night with a record attendance of 435 students
- The Spring Choir Concert will be held on May 7 and the Spring Band Concert will be held on May 14
- Prom was held on April 11 which was well attended
- The State Student Council Convention was held where 11th-grader Gopi Ramanathan was elected to serve as president of the state organization for the 2015-16 school year.
- Last month the SHS Student Council held an annual Fun Fest Fundraiser and raised more than $3,200 for Owen’s Night Out
- The SHS Knowledge Bowl team took fourth at the state competition
- Nathan Olson and Tyler Hinnekamp took first at the automotive technology state competition, and proceeded to take ninth out of 30 teams at the national competition held in New York
- The State Speech Competition was held on April 18 with Ryan Kororll competing in Extemporaneous Speaking and Nick Hill competing in the Humorous category
- Advanced Placement testing will be starting in early May
- The spring musical, Into the Woods, will perform May 28-30
- Seventh-grade Results:
Superintendent Report: Jeff Schwiebert, superintendent
- Legislative Report
- Currently, education funding is being discussed at the legislature. The discussions include adding funding to the basic funding formula or adding it to specific categorical accounts
- Early Childhood is at the forefront of this legislative session
- Education Done Differently
- This event was held April 16 at Sartell Middle School and showcased how technology continues to redefine teaching and learning within our district
- The district’s annual community survey will be available and shared with families from April 22-29. The district uses this information as a component of its continuous improvement plan. Additional questions were added to the early childhood portion of the survey to support new MDE requirements.
- The Pine Groove Art Festival will be held at Sartell Middle School on April 25 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. This event includes local artisans and many of our student musicians. There is also an evening event from 6:30-10 p.m. held at Mulligan’s Event Center where the Andrew Walesch Big Band will perform.
- The district continues to explore the option of solar energy
School Board Committees
Brad Lindell and Deb Griffiths from SEE presented what was happening and the climate of the legislature.
SEE is focusing on three areas for education:
- QComp – increase funding
- Facility funding – double-deferred maintenance, move from 65.00 per kid to 150.00
- Funding the General Formula 3 percent +
What is strongly been considered by our legislature and governor
- Funding Early Childhood
- Increasing scholarships for school readiness
- Problems, school district’s aren’t ready to accommodate these kids, busing is an issue
- 1 percent on formula to 1.5 percent
- This doesn’t even cover inflation. For our school district adding 3 to 4 percent to formula would help us the most. I advocated for our SEE’s lobbyist to have a strong voice about increasing the formula funding.
- Republican-led senate came out with a funding bill that would most help us. 3 percent on formula and absolutely no new mandates
- Facilities funding
- The legislature is really looking at how agriculture land is treated and taxed.
- Increasing scholarships for school readiness
MAKE NO MISTAKE, GOV. MARK DAYTON WANTS EARLY CHILDHOOD FUNDING AND EDUCATION TO BE HIS LEGACY.
Benton-Stearns Education District
- Looking to offer CPI Training in the summer for staff
- The group moved forward with staffing for a business manager
- Other educational entities are interested in utilizing services from Benton-Stearns
Community Outreach Group
- This committee met with city officials, Sarah Jane Nicoll, mayor; Amy Braig-Lindstrom, city council member; and Mary Degiovanni, city administrator
- Had some great discussions around several topics including Pinecone Road construction, future construction and developments, community center initiatives and future meetings between the two entities to continue to work together
Community Schools Planning Committee
- This committee has met four times with tours of district facilities being held during one of those meetings
- At the April 15 meeting, the district presented an overview of district facilities information, history and district trends
- Attendance has stayed strong throughout the process with the next two meetings being held at Sartell Middle School on May 6 and May 13
Sartell Senior Connection
- A signature event, Lemonade and Laughter, will be held on Tuesday, May 12 at 2 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier in Sartell
Enrollment Report: Superintendent Schwiebert reported on the current number of students enrolled in each school in the district.
Report – Food Service
- Brenda Braulick, food service director, and Hannah Brenner, district nutrition coordinator, shared an overview of the district food services program for the 2014-15 school year.
Safe and Supportive Schools Report
- Kurt Stumpf, assistant principal at Sartell Middle School, presented an overview of the District Safe and Supportive Schools Act plan.
A motion was made by McCabe and seconded by Nies to APPROVE #1-7:
New Employees or Changes:
Susan Fibranz, PME, cashier, from 2.5 hrs. to 4.25 hrs., additional assignment, 03-16-15; Dylan Hollenkamp, SHS, Ninth-grade baseball coach, $2,137, BS1, replacement for Mike Holman 03-16-15; Beverly Hommerding, SHS, cashier, $13/90/hr., R1, S1, replacement for Cheryl Nies, 03-30-15; Mackenzie Lecy, SMS, Boys and girls swim, $379, R1, S1, replacement for Michael Symanietz, 03-30-15; Cheryl Nies, PME, cashier, from 2.25 hrs. to 2.5 hrs., replacement for Kim Leigh, 03-16-15; Aimey Notsch, SMS, junior high track coach, $1,515, BS1, new position, 03-09-15; Rachel Tisdale, SMS, band lesson director, $1,801, BS1, replacement for Grant Garber, 06-08-15.
All in favor. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Meyer and seconded by Raden to IDENTIFY OFFICIAL WITH AUTHORITY SETUP AND RECERTIFICATION TO THE EXTERNAL USER ACCESS RECERTIFICATION SYSTEM THROUGH THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. All in favor. Motion carried.
A motion was made by McCabe and seconded by Nies to APPROVE THE OFFICIAL REVISIONS OF POLICIES OF 607 AND 609. All in favor. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Raden and seconded by Nies to APPROVE THE SARTELL HIGH SCHOOL GERMAN CLUB TRIP 2016 AND SOCIAL STUDIES TRIP 2016. Motion did not pass was withdrawn. They are not school-sponsored trips and are run by an outside agency. No board approval is necessary.
Schedule Work Session and Committee Meetings
CIAA – April 28, 2015 at 7:30 a.m.
Board Policy Committee Meeting – April 29, 2015 at 4 p.m.
Board Finance Committee Meeting – May 11, 2015 at 4 p.m.
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Meyer and seconded by Marushin at 8:08 p.m. All in favor. Motion carried.
Pam Raden, clerk/treasurer
Publish: June 1, 2015