The interview and reference questions are set, the dates of March 28 and 29 have been chosen and the six interviewees have been notified for the position of superintendent at Rushford-Peterson. The R-P School Board put their final touches on the upcoming interviews at their regular school board meeting March 21, 2022.
The six candidates who will be interviewed are: Benjamin Bernard, principal of St.Charles JR/SR High School, St. Charles, Minn.; Bradley Berzinski, principal of Molalla High School, Molalla, Oreg.; Dan Blankenship, SPED teacher, Southwest West Central Service Cooperative and STARRS Academy, Windom, Minn.; Craig Ihrke, superintendent Caledonia Area Schools, Caledonia Minn.; Chad Peterson, K-12 principal, Buffalo Lake Hector Schools, Hector, Minn.; Bill Walters superintendent Alta-Aurelia Community School District, Alta, Iowa.
All questions for the interview and references had to be decided on by the entire board; each interviewee will be asked the same questions. The interviews will begin at 5 p.m. and will run until approximately 8:30 p.m. each night with three interviews each night. Three will be selected by the board for second interviews. The interviews will be in the R-P forum room and are open to the public. Amy Woxland will make follow-up calls to references, and second round interviews will take place April 4 and possibly April 5. Following those interviews, a special meeting will be held April 6 to officially select the new superintendent.
Public comment concerns revisited
As he promised, Superintendent Jon Thompson surveyed the staff regarding the time the doors open to students. He reported that 93% of teachers wanted the time to remain at 8 a.m. The time in the morning is used by teachers to make final preparations for the day.
While board member Carl Schollmeier advocated for a 7:30 opening to accommodate parents, Chairman Chris Grindland felt it was not the role of the board to get into the specifics of running the school. Joyce Iverson declared, “We need to respect the needs of the teachers.”
Ultimately, the board decided with a roll call vote to keep the 8 a.m. door opening time with the stipulation that students who need extra help can still come in early. Thompson will speak to the bus drivers about not dropping off their students before the scheduled 8 time.
School lunches were another public concern. Students have been surveyed and Kari Blum, Food Service director, has been consulted. Some of the issues currently are due to substitutions by the food suppliers. Often items ordered do not arrive; since R-P is a small school, it does not always get items that are in high demand.
Carl Schollmeier asked if the state guidelines of 750–850 calories for high school students were really adequate for athletes. Thompson responded that the guidelines for school lunch programs must be followed for a school to receive subsidies. School lunches are free right now, but before COVID, students paid between $2.50 and $3.00 for subsidized lunches. If not for the subsidies, the daily price would be much more.
Superintendent Thompson assured the public and students that he and Blum are working on this; pay, pressure, and feeling unappreciated for the last two years have been “incredibly stressful” for the workers.
“I have no solution tonight — Mrs. Blum is really trying to make it better. I just don’t have a perfect answer,” Thompson stated.
High school student Linsey Meyer asked which students were surveyed. She commented on the many prepackaged foods served and asked for more hot meals for breakfast and less sugar. She suggested getting input from FFA and GoGreen clubs at the school.
Chellsey Olson, a daycare provider and parent, showed a picture of moldy cheese posted on an Instagram page that supposedly was served to a student and asked what the reaction was and what steps were taken following this. She also asked where the funds are coming from to cover the expense of styrofoam to serve lunches. She asked if more students are now bringing their lunches from home and suggested exit interviews for people who left Food Service employment to learn why they left.
Thompson did point out that negotiations are happening now with Food Service staff. Pay for the staff could be increased at this time. More staff could hopefully be hired. Chairman Grindland asked how many more hours are needed and how many cooks. He asked Thompson to address pay and staffing at negotiations. Board consensus was that Food Service needs more employees; they are hopeful that people will apply to work in R-P’s Food Service once they know they are needed.
Other business
In other business the board:
• Postponed the school climate survey until the new superintendent comes on board in July;
• Approved the two year bus contract with Bernard Bus Service;
• Changed the April school board meeting to Wednesday, April 20 at 6 p.m. in the forum room; the public is welcome to attend.
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