Caledonia Area Public School board members met Tuesday, February 20 at Caledonia Elementary School in room #162. Board member Mike Peterson called the meeting to order at 6 p.m., led with the Pledge of Allegiance, and conducted roll call. Board members present included Derek Adamson, Tim Gunn, Melissa Marschall, Daniel Small and Spencer Yohe. Board member Leigh King was absent. In addition, Superintendent Craig Ihrke, Middle/High School Principal Nathan Boler, Elementary Principal Sue Link, and Dean of Students John Wahlstrom attended. Community Education Director Gretchen Juan was absent.
Board member Yohe moved, seconded by Adamson, to adopt the agenda. Motion carried.
The board graciously accepted a generous monetary donation from the American Legion Post 191, the donation will fund new AED machines. Yohe stated, “I would like to add that it’s really great!” Yohe shared how an AED once saved his life.
Board member Peterson moved, seconded by Adamson, to approve the consent agenda which included approval of minutes from the January 16 regular board meeting, minutes from the January 29 special board meeting, treasurer’s report, and the hiring of Dan Reinhart as head volleyball coach for the 2024-2025 school year.
Yohe moved, seconded by Small, to approve the spring sport coaching contracts for the 2023-2024 school year. Motion carried. Baseball will have Shawn Bauer as head coach, Zach Hauser as assistant coach, and Mason Staggemeyer as junior high coach. Softball will have Chad Augedahl as head coach, Kari Rusert as assistant coach, and Katie Block as junior high coach. Boys and girls golf will have Robbie Sobczak as head girls golf coach. There is a current vacant position for a head boys golf coach. Boys and girls track will have Reese Wait as head boys track coach, Mitchell Bechtel as head girls track coach, and Rachel Welch as assistant boys and girls track coach. Board member Gunn questioned if all the coaching positions are full. Superintendent Ihrke stated he thinks the junior high numbers will warrant an additional coach.
The board unanimously approved the contracting with ISG for facilities assessment study.
Elementary Principal Link shared her board report;
• Parent teacher conferences were held Thursday, February 1 and Tuesday, February 6.
• The Scholastic book fair had been held and was a great success. Link thanked Lorene Reining, Kerry Schaller, Ben Reining, Pam Schieber, volunteers, and all who supported the event.
• Lyceum, the traveling Minnesota science museum, visited the elementary school Friday, February 2 and presented an exhibit.
• PACE (Parents as Allies in Children’s Education) will host Family Fun Night Friday, February 23.
• Kindergarten Round-up will take place Tuesday, March 26 at 6 p.m. at the elementary school.
• Link stated she registered for both Minnesota Reading Corps and Minnesota Math Corps for the 2024-2025 school year.
Afterwords, Middle/High School Principal Boler shared his board report;
• Wednesday, February 14 the sophomore class visited Mabel-Canton, Minn., for a Dream Job Event.
• On Wednesday, March 6 students will have the opportunity to visit La Crescent, Minn., and attend the Career Fair & Hiring Event.
• Boler continues to work on the 2024-2025 master schedule.
• Boler met with Riverland Community College to arrange CIS (College in Schools) courses for students to take during the 2024-2025 school year. This is a good opportunity for students to earn both high school and college credits concurrently.
Dean of Students Wahlstrom presented the following;
• The Strategic Oversight Committee will pick one goal for each meeting, the goal chosen will be a goal listed as part of the Strategic Plan. Currently, there is focus on the goal pertaining to disciplinary occurrences.
• DIRS (Discipline Incident Reporting System) data from MDE (Multidisciplinary Evaluation) will be analyzed by Caledonia Elementary School’s fifth grade teacher, Jake Hebeisen. Hebeisen volunteered to do so in addition to creating visuals. The data will determine what the next step(s) will be.
No old business was presented.
New Business
The board reviewed school policies 213, 801-802, 805, 809-811, and 818.
Board member Peterson suggested reconfiguring the present board room (room #162 in the elementary building) so board members can sit closer in proximity to one another. The steps in room #162 pose an issue with moving things around. Peterson asks about allowing board meetings to be live streamed to allow accessibility to those unable to attend meetings in person.
The Caledonia Area Public School board meeting adjourned at 6 p.m. The next board meeting will be held Monday, March 18 at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place at Caledonia Elementary School in room #162. The public is invited to attend.
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