At their April 3 meeting, the Houston School Board signed a new contract for IT services with CMConsultants, LLC. According to Superintendent Mary Morem, the school will save about $12,000 “right off the top” and there will be more savings on devices through the company. The annual agreement will cost $102,000 and can be reviewed and evaluated by the board after the first year.
Morem felt that not only would the company provide financial savings, but also better service. She had pointed out that it was essential to get a contract signed for services because vendors would not work with the school unless a signed contract was in place.
Hurricane Heroes
April’s Hurricane Heroes were presented by Elementary Assistant Principal Angela McQuinn. The entire newly formed PTA was recognized by McQuinn for its contributions to the school.
McQuinn shared that when the first meeting of the PTA was held this past fall, only five people attended the first virtual meeting. The group quickly grew and is now official with a 5013c status. At its first fundraiser, the PTA raised $800 by offering a breakfast. Many of the members were in attendance at the board meeting to receive their awards.
Elementary Class Sizes
The school board heard from Angela McQuinn regarding class sizes and sections for the upcoming school year at the elementary. With a total of 200 students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade, McQuinn and the teachers have discussed the best possible distribution of teaching staff.
There will be two sections of kindergarten, one of first grade, two of second grade, two of third grade and two of fourth grade. Fifth and sixth grades will each have their own home room; teachers will specialize in subject matter and share the students.
In addition to teaching staff, there are four SPED paras and two Title I paras who work with elementary students.
Co-op Sports
The board approved the co-op spring sports transportation expense after learning the $2,944 cost from Morem. Busing to R-P for track practice is not an issue, since a bus already travels to Rushford after school each day. Houston also provides busing back to Houston after practices.
Prior to the regular school board meeting, parents of youth wrestlers met with board members to provide input to the board regarding whether Houston should co-op again with Caledonia next year for wrestling. Varsity wrestlers and parents had met previously with administration about the matter, but the board wanted to hear from the youth wrestling parents as well.
A decision on co-op wrestling will not be made until the May board meeting. The board wanted time to discuss it thoroughly and allow parents to share their input.
Student School Board Report
Student School Board Representative Julia Carr updated the board on events at Houston High School. Carr reminded the community that the Spring Cleanup Day was coming up and urged residents and businesses to sign up at the school for help with their cleanup projects.
Movie night is returning to the elementary to Julia’s delight. She fondly remembered movie nights when she was in elementary.
The seventh graders will be attending Eagle Bluff along with some high school mentors.
Prom is coming up soon; a chickenque fundraiser for the After Prom party will be held Sunday.
Other Business
In other business, the school board;
- Approved both second reading and first reading of policies with little discussion; the policy changes were minor such as statute numbers or wording;
- Were reminded that negotiations for many positions will be coming up soon;
- Learned that Morem is working on transportation routes for the coming year; the geography of the district makes it difficult to set efficient bus routes;
- Heard that bids were now out for food service for the coming year;
- Learned that elementary teacher Deb Botcher will be retiring at the end of this year; Botcher has taught at Houston for 26 years;
- Accepted the resignation of boys’ basketball coach Jake Merchelwitz;
- Congratulated and wished the Knowledge Bowl success as they head to state competition.
Leave a Reply