At the June 27 board meeting, Fillmore Central School Board member Sue Sikkink asked the rest of the board to consider lowering fees for extracurricular activities and eliminating fees for activities where students receive a letter grade. Board member Jim Love took it a step further, suggesting that the fees be removed completely. “We have the funding available,” he pointed out. He also noted that a lot of time is spent chasing down payments from parents.
Board member Deb Ristau agreed with Love, saying that the fees have been raised when necessary and now it’s not necessary to have them at all.
Concerns were voiced about the possibility of having to bring back the fees at some point and the response the school would receive for that. “I don’t believe we should keep things the same just because they’re easy,” Love responded.
Superintendent Richard Keith was in favor of the fee removal. “Maybe taking away the fees would encourage more kids to participate,” he pointed out.
Ristau made a motion to eliminate all non-essential extra-curricular fees except for instrument rentals, percussion fees, and clay shooting fees.
The motion was seconded by Love and approved by a majority vote.
The board extended congratulations to the boys and girls golf teams. The boys team made it to section runner-up and the girls to section champions and then state runner-up. They also congratulated the track team on their accomplishments.
The Alternative Learning Program application was submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education on April 27 and received approval on May 26. The program is now ready to begin enrolling interested students.
Out of the 47 2016-17 Fillmore Central graduates, 22 will be going on to a four-year college or university, 14 are planning to attend a two-year technical or community college, three are joining the military, and eight are entering the workforce.
The board approved the following donations; $100 from the Youth FB Class of 2017, $4,605.36 from the Post Prom Committee Class of 2017, $250 from Kingsley Mercantile, $495.35 from the Harmony Vet Clinic for the FFA, $1,000 from the One & Done fundraiser for the choir, $200 from Gundersen Clinic for the band, $500 from the Harmony Fire Department for the band, $500 from Olmsted Medical Center for the band, $100 from Jerome and Sharyol O’Connor for the Jazz Big Band Bash, $300 from the Preston Arts Council for the Jazz Big Band Bash, and $8,500 from the Monster Bash for a total of $16,630.71. The board expressed their gratitude for the donations.
A resignation was accepted from Riley Bahl. A maternity leave for paraprofessional Heidi Brown was approved for the end of September through the end of November.
Lori Weiss was hired as the daycare lead toddler teacher, Sarah O’Connell as fifth grade teacher, Carolyn Ledin as a school readiness teacher, Jessica Bredberg as a school readiness teacher assistant, and Taylor Case as the eighth grade volleyball coach. Marsha Dowe was hired to work as a facilitator for the summer credit recovery program. The Summer Rec staff hires were also approved and included Logan Corson, Colten Kraling, Caitlyn Walsh, Sam Rustad, Walker Ward, Maggie McKernan, Molly McKernan, Domanic Merkel, Nick Marzolf, Emma Breitsprecher, Dylan Bothun, and Mason Berg.
Dean of Students Chris Mensink requested an indefinite leave of absence from teaching and to remain on the teaching seniority list. He also asked that the positions of Dean of Students and Activities Director be removed from the Education Minnesota Fillmore Central bargaining group. The board approved his requests.
A three-year contract with mental health therapist Melissa Simonson was approved as well as tenure status for Matt Anderson.
The special education service contract for orientation and mobility services was approved and will remain the same as last year’s. A second special education service contract for a licensed physically impaired/traumatic brain injury consultant through Hiawatha Valley Education District was also approved.
A food service vendor proposal from Taher was approved for the 2017-18 school year.
The board reviewed the proposed food prices for the upcoming school year. The district is required to raise prices a minimum of $0.05 annually until the federally established per-meal lunch price is met and will be implementing the increase for student lunch and breakfast and adult meal prices. Healthy snack cart prices will be raised $10 for the year.
The land swap with the City of Harmony was approved to allow the building of the new school shed near the community center in Harmony.
Superintendent Richard Keith was designated as the local education agency representative and homeless liaison.
The Workmen’s Compensation insurance with Employers Preferred Insurance Company was approved. The renewal premium will actually decrease this year by $1,055.
The pay was set for substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries, custodians, and van drivers.
The first readings of the K-6, 7-12, faculty, and coaches’ handbooks for the 2017-18 school year were reviewed by the board with minor changes to each one noted.
The operating budget for the upcoming school year was presented by Darla Ebner at the meeting. Enrollment is predicted to decline and will have an impact on the district’s revenue. The board approved the budget.
The next Fillmore Central School Board meeting will be held on July 25 at 6:30 p.m.
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