At the November 12, 2019 Chatfield School Board meeting, all board members were present along with Lorri Lowrey, administrative assistant and Krista O’Connor, business manager. Also present were principals Shane McBroom and Randy Paulson. Superintendent Ed Harris was not present.
Under board committees, board member Katie Priebe talked about the meeting of the Activities Committee regarding facility usage, concerns of area churches about Wednesday and Sunday practices, and fundraisers.
Shane McBroom, elementary principal, reported about the continued work being done with the personalized learning curriculum. Staff has been sharing what they are doing in their classrooms with their peers. Coming up for grades four through six is a Non-Fiction Day where students will have their choice of topics they get to learn about. There will be three different sessions offered. Staff will be creating learning opportunities through non-fiction texts that will be paired with activities to reinforce their topics. Veterans Day was celebrated at the elementary with a program with veterans and auxiliary members, student essays being read, and patriotic songs being sung. Judge Joe Chase gave his annual presentation on the history of wars and the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence. The Lions Club recently distributed dictionaries and rulers to all the third graders.
At the high school, Principal Paulson commended the band and choir for their Veterans Day concert on the tribute they paid to veterans on November 7. FFA members who attended the National FFA Convention were honored by getting the highest award, the Three Star Chapter Award for a third year in a row. Three members received their American FFA Degrees. Those members were Payton Guenther, Maggie Lowrey and Kyle VanDeWalker. The FFA test plot has been harvested and Paulson thanked all the businesses and individuals involved in another successful crop year. Students were given a presentation recently on the health risks of vaping by Katie Austin, Olmsted Public Health Nurse.
Under the consent agenda the October 2, 2019, meeting minutes were approved along with the student senate fundraiser. The following new hires were approved: Math Wizards advisor, Samantha Thorson and seventh grade girls basketball coach, Rianna Cooper. Also approved was the resignation of junior high football coach Blake Carrier. Item E on the consent agenda was moved to action items.
Action items approved were resolution canvassing return of votes of special election for the referendum, resolution canvassing return of votes of special election for the school board, and a resolution was read authorizing issuance of certificate of election. Action was taken to dissolve the current girls alpine ski co-op and make application for a new girls alpine ski co-op. A resolution authorizing the superintendent to execute contracts and/or enter into agreements on behalf of the school board for the purposes of the DHS LST Project was tabled until more information about it was available. The last action item approved was an agreement to purchase education services from Hiawatha Valley Education District. Item E, volleyball fundraisers, from the consent agenda was discussed at length. A discussion about how fundraisers need more oversight and should go through a committee before coming before the board was held and the item was tabled for further information.
The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be on December 4 at 7 p.m. in the high school forum room.