On January 22, Dan Armagost and John Mark Dundas, of the Southern Minnesota Education Consortium (SMEC), presented the Kingsland School Board with the fiscal year 2024 audit. SMEC is a multi-purpose cooperative of school districts that work together to provide support for special education students. Currently, there are seven member districts within SMEC including … [Read more...]
New Spring Valley Mayor Hopes for a United 2025
Newly elected Spring Valley Mayor Justin Mlinar presided over his first regular meeting on January 13. The first order of business was to have newly appointed council member Brent Kohn take his oath of office. Kohn will join Chris Danielson as the new faces on the Spring Valley City Council this year. The council then worked through the annual resolutions. The Fillmore … [Read more...]
Kingsland to Hold Special Election for Proposed Referendum
Kingsland business manager Julie Schreiber kicked off the Kingsland School Board December 16 meeting with their annual Truth and Taxation presentation. “Our funding will trail inflation by about $1,364 per pupil in 2025,” Schreiber said. “It (funding) has been increasing but it has not been keeping up with inflation. In 2026 there is going to be an automatic inflationary … [Read more...]
Truth and Taxation Hearing Gets Heated with Downtown Project Discussion
The Spring Valley City Council held their Truth and Taxation hearing prior to their December 9 meeting. The council reviewed their proposed property tax levy, which will be collectable in 2025, with the numbers set as such, the general operating budget at $676,158, parks at $182,000, the economic development authority (EDA) set at $81,427 and library at $170,000. The total debt … [Read more...]
Money Talks as Kingsland Board Hears Audit Report
Jason Boynton of Smith Schafer presented the audit report for the district at the Kingsland School Board meeting on November 18. “Overall we have a clean opinion on the audit and there is nothing of concern to bring to the board’s attention,” Boynton said. “At the end of the fiscal year we averaged 542 students, which is down four. If you look back to 2016 there were 601 … [Read more...]
Spring Valley Council to Continue Moving Forward with Broadway Project
The Broadway Project brought a packed house at the Spring Valley City Council’s November 13 meeting as news of a potential grant opportunity was presented. It has been a year since the consideration of the Downtown Project began, which included a community survey to hear residents’ thoughts on improving the downtown, a formation of a committee who dedicated themselves to a … [Read more...]
After Board Approval, Kingsland Seniors Succeed in Shortening Their Academic School Year
At their October 21 meeting, the Kingsland School Board reviewed a proposal from the 2025 senior class, which asked the school to consider allowing the seniors’ last academic day be May 16. “Effectively we would be forgiving three academic days for them,” Superintendent Scott Klavetter stated. According to the proposal, the class believes this would save students from … [Read more...]
Spring Valley Council Hears Updates on 2025 Projects
At their October 14 meeting, Drew Weber, of Bolton and Menk, updated the council on the city’s various street projects. “The 2024 trail improvement in Willow Park has been completed. The turf grading around the trail is to be completed by city staff,” Weber shared. The 2025 Tracy Road project, which received a local road improvement grant, is in the final design … [Read more...]
Kingsland Board Approves Proposed Levy
The Kingsland School Board reviewed a proposed levy during their September 16 meeting. At this stage there are no exact numbers for the levy, but the board was recommended to certify the levy up to the maximum amount. This will allow the school to adjust their numbers up until the final levy is reviewed and set. “The MDE (Minnesota Department of Education) always encourages … [Read more...]
Kingsland Board Discusses Referendum
The upcoming referendum was the main topic of conversation for the Kingsland School Board during their August 19 meeting. Pat Overom, of ICS Consulting Inc., reviewed the referendum handbook saying, “The intent of this is to outline your roles as board members and district staff, the process that was gone through, challenges the district is currently facing and it really … [Read more...]