At the February 10, 2021, Chatfield School Board meeting, board members present were: Katie Priebe, Josh Thompson, and Lanny Isensee, as well as Principals Shane McBroom, Randy Paulson, Superintendent Ed Harris, LuAnn Klevan, Community Education Director; and Trista O’Connor, business manager. Board members Matt McMahon, Jill Harstad, and Tom Keefe joined the meeting via Zoom.
LuAnn Klevan reported the 3-5 year old classes have all returned to the in-person model and that conferences for the four- and five-year-old classes are March 15 and 16. She thanked the Masons for their contribution of $1,000 to help cover a scholarship for a new student. Much of her discussion with the board was about the pay inequity in the preschool staff. These teachers are not part of the bargaining unit and in order to retain qualified staff she urged the board to look at solutions for ways to more equitably support these teachers. Superintendent Harris asked Klevan to gather information on this issue so it could be brought to the Finance and Facility Committee in April. Early childhood parent-child classes will begin in April. Summer registration for Valleyland for current families began March 1 and for new families will begin on April 1. The number of children per classroom for the summer will need to align with current COVID guidelines. A fee structure has been changed for the summer program that will be by the day, extended day or half day; not hourly as has been done in the past. Youth programs are starting for elementary basketball clinics in April. Efforts are being made to build the After School Enrichment programs and Summer Recreation and Enrichment programs are attempting to develop two four-day camps for the summer.
Randy Paulson, high school principal, discussed the adjustments that may need to be made in the high school scheduling for next year. Some areas will need more coverage and he is looking at how to more efficiently use addtional resources both in the classroom and in the ALP (Alternative Learning Program) with funding through vocational and special education sources. The master schedule for the 2021-2022 school year will have a small change in that Block D and the Flex period will be combined. This will allow more efficient scheduling of teachers and reduce the large number of students in elective classes. It will also give students more choices of class offerings each period and reduce the number of scheduling conflicts per student.
Elementary principal, Shane McBroom shared that parent teacher conferences were done via Zoom and had a 94.5% attendance rate. He is looking into finding out how this worked for families and if this would be an option in the future. The elementary PLC (Personal Learning Communities) are working on the upcoming changes in the Minnesota Science Standards.
Superintendent Harris said the return to in-person schooling for all grades has gone well. The high school did experience a large quarantining of students and two coaches and he authorized an abbreviated quarantine as long as protocols were strictly followed. He commented that other area schools are using this approach as well. The high school principal search is progressing and 17 applications are on file. Those who wish to be interviewed must now submit a one-minute video to the selection committee. The committee will meet on March 17 to determine the interview pool. Interviews are scheduled for March 24 and 25.
Under action items, he recommended the lowest quote from Josh Broadwater for the mowing contract, the approval of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) for the compensation of coaches and advisors for 2020-2021, which is a statement of how abbreviated or cancelled contracts would work and the acceptance of the Achievement and Integration Budget as presented by Principal Paulson. All three of these items were approved by the board later in the meeting.
Under the consent agenda the board approved the meeting minutes of February 10 and 16. Fall coaches approved were Molly Thomas, volleyball; Jayna Harstad, cross country; and Jeff Johnson, football. The field trips for the eighth and ninth grade to Washington, D.C. and the fifth and sixth grade to Eagle Bluff were approved. The hiring of Dawn Lubahn as high school paraprofessional was approved. The following job postings were approved: elementary paraprofessional, early childhood special education teacher, high school English teacher, Knowledge Bowl coach, senior class co-advisor (internal only) and Minnesota Honor Society Advisor (internal only). Retirements for Linda Zeccardi and Janet Bren, maternity leave for Kaitlin Dunlay and the hiring of Adam Hurley as spring weight room coach were also approved.
The next meeting will be on April 14, 2021, in the high school forum room.
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