Photo by Wanda Hanson
Mary Morem attended her first Houston School Board meeting as the new superintendent July 15, 2021. During the Old Business section of the meeting, Mary addressed some of the items the board had chosen to wait to discuss with her. Morem opted to wait on a decision to hire an onsite instructional coach at this time. She wants to gather more information and knowledge of the school’s needs first. Morem assured the board she would want to find the perfect fit for such a position if they decided to create such a position; she wants to make sure the person hired would be very familiar with all the standards as well as the needs of the school.
Morem shared with the board that she is a supporter of early outs; in her two previous schools the Wednesday early outs had worked out well. Coordination with the churches allowed religious instruction for students on those days. In Caledonia, another Q-Comp school, the early outs were used for teachers to plan and collaborate. Morem asked the board members what questions they wanted answered before making a decision on early outs.
Both Richard Erdmann and Mark Swenson felt the biggest issue with parents was likely to be students at home unsupervised for an afternoon; they both felt a shorter time would be better. Morem agreed, saying it would likely be an hour. Tom Stilin was concerned about double bussing of students that a half day early out would necessitate; he had worried that buses wouldn’t be able to handle the turnaround time.
Mimi Carlson asked if the 12:30 early outs scheduled for seven times during the year would then be eliminated. Morem explained that those days would be when speakers were brought in, while the hour early outs would be when teachers would implement strategies learned from those speakers. Carlson commented that the early outs were suggested in order to help struggling students. Morem suggested using HVED resources, paras, and National Honor Society volunteers to do that. Carlson asked for consistency and more discussion about the topic before implementation; she also suggested that the district advisory council be involved in the discussions.
New Business
Much of the New Business dealt with changing the superintendent position from Krin Abraham to Mary Morem. Morem was given wire transfer authorization and named the Individual Official with Authority. Many of the policies presented for first reading dealt with changing the name of the superintendent to Morem.
Normal yearly memberships were renewed: Southeast Service Cooperative, Southeast Service Cooperative Employee Assistance Program, HVED services agreement, and MREA membership renewal.
The 10-year plan for the district was approved with no further discussion; as was the approval of the second quarter board pay. Prom donations from Larry Jerviss ($100), Ronald and Rae Evenson ($350), Steven and Holly Westby ($100), John and Nicole Evenson ($100), and Jerome and Sharon Knudsen ($100) were gratefully accepted by the board.
Other comments by Morem
Morem reported to the board that the second furnace for the preschool area would need to be replaced in the near future. The first and third furnace appear to have been recently replaced. Stilin directed that it be put on the finance and facilities list.
Morem informed the board that former superintendent Abraham had been at the facilities meeting with Sitelogiq to help with the kitchen and ‘57 addition projects. Inspection has been done on the electrical systems and areas have been tested for asbestos.
Public comment was received by a newcomer to the district who asked what preschool transportation was like. Mimi Carlson asked if the district would be resuming transportation to daycares this year. (It had been halted during COVID.) Morem told the board she’d be getting further information about transportation in the near future.
Superintendent Morem shared that she plans to begin Community Coffee and Conversation groups to get to know people here. She also informed the board that the new website is up and running, calling it a work in progress and asking them to feel free to suggest changes.
The next Houston School Board meeting will be August 5, 2021 at 6 p.m. in the high school media center; the public is welcome to attend.
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