At their August 16 meeting, the Mabel-Canton School Board approved the hiring of elementary teacher Laura Vatland, paraprofessional Kim Underbakke, music teacher Kimberly Svanoe, and paraprofessional and SAC coordinator Amanda Jensen, all for the 2016-17 school year. They also accepted the resignation of music teacher Katie Larson effective immediately and thanked her for her time at the Mabel-Canton School District.
Donations in the amount of $350 from First Lutheran Church for student-based needs, $5,000 from Mabel Telephone Coop for technology use in the classrooms, $80 from Rockwell Collins on behalf of and in memory of Anna Cook, and $50 from Allan Sather in memory of Gudron Storhoff to be used for the 5th grade class were accepted with gratitude from the board.
The 2016-17 current budget was reviewed and approved by the board as well as the payment of the district bills and electronic fund transfers.
Hiawatha Valley Education District’s new executive director Deb Marcotte distributed a handout to the board members detailing HVED’s strategic plan for the 2015-16 school year and how it was implemented, along with changes that will be made to the plan for the upcoming school year. Several of the focuses of HVED are organization and communication which will include monthly meetings and newsletters. A MTSS or Multi-Tiered System of Supports program was recently implemented and will have two meetings a year, one in October and the other in April, to review and discuss what works for each school district partnered with HVED. The goal is to have HVED and the districts it serves learn from each other.
HVED piloted an online digital curriculum called Odysseyware last year and will be making it available to all districts this year. The curriculum is for K-12 students and can be used by teachers for their classrooms. The program is adaptive and updated regularly. “We’re really doing good things,” Marcotte concluded, adding that she hopes to see HVED continue to serve school districts well.
Dean of students Michelle Weidemann was able to attend a 504 training earlier in the day along with several teachers. She explained that a 504 is different from an IEP in that it focuses more on making accommodations for children with physical, mental, or medical challenges. “There was a lot of really good information at the meeting,” she noted.
Three foreign exchange students will be joining the Mabel-Canton school district this year. “They bring a nice aspect to the school,” Weidemann said.
In the coming school year, a therapist will be on site one day a week to work with students who need mental health services. A grant is providing the money to pay for the therapist.
The booster club requested the use of the gym for their upcoming cancer fundraiser. The board approved the request.
Boardmember Chris Loppnow said that several parents has approached her to ask why the cheerleaders don’t pay the same athletics fees that all the other sports are required to pay. The cheerleading team is recognized by the Minnesota State High School League or MSHSL as a sport. Cheerleading coach Heather Kleiboer said that she tries to keep the costs as low as possible so that every girl who wants to join the squad has the opportunity. The girls do fundraising to cover their expenses such as uniforms and cheer camp, and the only cost to the district is what it pays the coach.
There was some discussion among the board about whether cheerleading could be considered a sport as they do not compete against other teams. Kleiboer pointed out that there are competitions at cheer camp. It was decided to charge a junior high athlete fee instead of varsity to the cheerleaders and create a budget to help cover the costs of the uniforms.
The district business manager Aimee Lake reviewed the proposed levy with the board. The levy would be set at 1.079% if voted into effect and would provide a slight decrease to the taxpayers and a small increase to the district. The resolution for the levy was approved.
The next Mabel-Canton School Board meeting will be held on September 20.
Leave a Reply