At the May 8, 2024 school board meeting, board members Jill Harstad, David Sowinski, Josh Thompson, Katie Priebe, Tom Keefe and Mark Johnsrud were present as well as Superintendent Ed Harris, Elementary Principal Shane McBroom, and High School Principal Eric Nelson.
Shane McBroom reported that Kindergarten Round-Up was very successful with 68 students registered for next year. He thanked he teachers and chaperones for a successful outing with the fifth graders who attended camp at Eagle Bluff. He then explained to the board about a proposed change in the structure of Parent Teacher Conferences. Typically conferences are scheduled on the Monday and Tuesday of MEA week and in February. McBroom cited conflicts with teachers’ and parents’ schedules make it difficult for this to be a viable option. A committee of staff and administration met to discuss options and have come up with a proposal that would move conferences to two dates, October 21 from 1-8 p.m. and March 24 from 1-8 p.m. The committee felt that this would minimize the schedule conflicts with sports, lessen the evening commitments during the school week for staff and provide more flexibility for families in scheduling the conference throughout the middle and later part of the day.
Eric Nelson agreed that the changes to Parent Teacher Conferences would maximize the opportunities for parent communications and allow for greater flexibility for parents’ needs. He also addressed the hope that the legislature will add additional funds to support the implementation of the READ Act that was mandated by the 2023 legislative session. He said this would be a positive for Chatfield and other rural districts that do not have large professional development budgets for training teachers.
Superintendent Harris stated that one of his administrative goals for the year is to establish a district level curriculum and staff development oversight group. His intention for this group is to meet before the end of the school to clarify initiatives and goals that will tie into the World’s Best Workforce Plan/Report submitted to the school board each winter. He also was happy to report that two of our teachers have been awarded statewide honors. Matt Mauseth was named Minnesota Wrestling Coach of the Year and Stacy Fritz was named Minnesota Agricultural Educator of the Year.
Under consent items the following were approved:
- Minutes of the April 10, 2024 meeting
- Winter 2024-25 varsity coaches: Demery Maughan, dance
- Fall 2024 junior high and assistant coaches: Adam Hurley, Tom Bance, Kirk Affeldt, Corey Dornack and Sean Trewin for football; Maddie Kammer, Amanda Priebe and Shelby Nolan for volleyball; and Jenny Bradt for cross country
- New hires: Grace Jones-Hoover, high school social studies teacher
- Resignations: Tom Moody, SPED, Angela Grant, ECFE and Anna Johnson, preschool
- Job postings: SPED teacher and part time ECFE Coordinator/Parent Educator
- Elementary summer school hires
- Approve business manager, Todd Netzke as authorized signer for the checking and savings account, safe deposit box and cash management online services
The Facility Update and Maintenance Project was brought up for discussion. Josh Thompson expressed concern that the district is not moving forward with the identified projects that need to be completed and that the project will be forgotten. He suggested that this be planned sooner than later. Other board members felt the August and November options for a vote would not leave enough time to inform voters of the project. Harris offered to look at options for a February or April vote that would give the board time to strategize how and when they would present the proposed project to the district voters.
Under action items, the board approved the Education Identity and Access Management Resolution and the 2024-25 support staff employment language. Support staff would receive a 2.5% wage increase, steps 1 and 2 would be removed from the wage scale; making the starting wages more competitive. Other language included an increase in longevity pay, free regular lunch for support staff and free school age daycare for all support staff both for the school year and summer. The board also voted to approve the proposed calendar revision as presented by elementary principal, Shane McBroom. The proposal to add solar panels to both schools with a grant of $130,000 was approved. The board weighed the pros and cons of this project in that the savings per year is $2,500 but that the educational benefits bringing student awareness of environmental factors would be well worth proceeding.
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