Kingsland School Board held a work session meeting on February 7. Judy Tart’s Food Service report included that, “MDE (Minnesota Department of Education) sent notice that Kingsland Foodservice has an excess fund balance again and needs to spend down $92,633.49.” Board members discussed various equipment that Kingsland may wish to purchase to appropriately use these funds. Jackie Horsman pointed out that guidelines are strict regarding what types of expenditures are allowable in such situations. No formal decisions were made at this time.
Becky Bicknese submitted a written report on Community Education. Superintendent Hecimovich highlighted several items in her report, including the recent father/daughter dance, as he reported, “She said it was the best they’ve ever had, which is wonderful.” Kyle Rader agreed, and said attendance was strong, stating, “It was packed!”
Activities Director Laurie Hendrickson reported to the board. She pointed out that, “Dance is a concern… because I think we’re down to five dancers, but we’ll lose two seniors… there just doesn’t seem to be the interest.” Hecimovich said a number of students participated in non-school dance (“Just for Kix”) and these students often don’t want to double-up by also being in Kingsland’s dance group. Hendrickson has spoken with several other schools in the area to have preliminary discussions on whether or not Kingsland’s dancers could join with a nearby team, if Kingsland continues to struggle with low numbers. Hendrickson also stated that she is willing to continue serving as AD beyond this school year, if the board wishes.
Superintendent Hecimovich said he’s been asked if Kingsland would consider making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a holiday. He said his opinion is that this shouldn’t be done, because if school were not held on that day, he believes students would simply view it as another day off. Instead, he feels that Kingsland is able to provide education about King’s life on that day every year.
The board heard from two students, Kennedy Fenske and Shelby Beck, regarding the proposed Senior Trip for 2022. The girls explained that the proposed trip would be to Wisconsin Dells. They said the proposed trip would be April 29 through May 1, staying at the Wilderness Resort, which would allow a variety of educational and recreational options, including an escape room, laser tag, mini golf, and water parks. The per-student cost is expected to be $100-$200 depending on the number of students who choose to attend.
In discussing the academic calendar, Gwen Howard asked, “So in the past, I’m talking years ago, when we had snow days, we always built in extra days because of that, right?” Hecimovich replied, “We have five flex learning days, e-learning days for weather, that kids can learn from home. They don’t count against us.” He said that although Kingsland used to “build-in” some snow days, “We don’t need to do that anymore because rarely do you go over the five,” and he pointed out that the academic calendar is always designed to exceed the minimum instructional totals, which provides additional wiggle room if needed.
Superintendent Hecimovich brought up the issue of whether or not Kingsland should allow some students who have not met 100% of Kingsland’s graduation requirements to participate in the formal graduation ceremony. He stated that during his tenure at Kingsland, the school has not made such exceptions, and he encouraged the board to keep that practice in place. Hecimovich stated that, in essence, Kingsland needs to decide whether to ceremony as a “graduation ceremony” or change it to a “participation ceremony.” He said, “It goes against my grain” to allow anyone to participate in the ceremony who hasn’t met all the requirements, and he added, “I’d like to keep that a very sacred thing.” But he said he isn’t against offering some type of recognition for other notable students, such as foreign exchange students, before the graduating seniors walk across the stage. No formal action was taken, but several board members voiced agreement that they prefer to keep the expectation as is.
The board heard a summary of the school’s annual Wellness Report, which shows the ways in which the district supports student wellness, staff wellness, and community wellness.
Due to the Presidents’ Day holiday, the board’s next regular meeting will be on Wednesday, February 23 at 6 p.m. The public is welcome. Kingsland continues to offer the option for anyone to listen in via Zoom technology.
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