Student Council Representative Taylor Reinhardt proudly reported at the Spring Grove School Board’s November 20 meeting that grades K-6 participated in a coin war, raising $444.59 to be donated to the Houston County Food Shelf.
Chairman Aaron Solum called the board’s regularly scheduled meeting to order at 7 p.m.
Board members present included Aric Elton, Stephanie Jaster, Kelly Rohland, Aaron Solum, Angie Solie and Student Representative Reinhardt. Absent was Rhan Flatin.
The board unanimously approved the consent agenda, including the meeting agenda, the October 16 regular school board meeting minutes, the minutes from the November 14 special school board meeting, the treasurer’s report and the bills. Also approved were employment contracts with Hannah Friesner, K-12 Vocal and General Music; Erin Konkel, head junior high girls basketball coach; Jess Sherburne, assistant junior high girls basketball coach; and accepted the resignation from Taylor Elton, junior varsity/c-team volleyball coach.
Principal Luke Kjelland shared behavior data from the first quarter, highlighting the high school grades. Last year, grades nine through 12 had 12 referrals. This year, there are only three referrals. Kjelland said, “I think they say a high school of 500 students; you could expect five to seven per day.”
The school owns a half-acre lot northwest of Black Hammer. Superintendent Rachel Udstuen explained that when the schoolhouse closed, ownership was transferred to Spring Grove Public Schools. In partnership with Pheasants/Quails Forever, the school would like to use the property for a pollinator project for the school’s biology students. Pheasants/Quails Forever already approved the property for a grant. Since the grant will not cover the costs of removing the schoolhouse or the pine trees bordering the property, the plan is to offer the building to anyone wanting to reclaim the wood and the trees for firewood. Assistant Superintendent Gina Meinertz confirmed that the property is not big enough for CRP but will work for native plants. A plan to upkeep the project would need to be developed.
The board unanimously passed by roll call a resolution adopting the post-issuance debt compliance policy and procedures prepared by Ehlers, the district’s public financial advisors. The policy states, “The district desires to monitor these obligations (for example, tax-exempt obligations, Build America bonds, recovery zone development bonds, and various tax credit bonds) to ensure compliance with the IRS Code, Treasury Regulations, and the SEC.”
A two-year cooperative agreement was approved with Mabel-Canton Public Schools (M-C) for girls varsity and junior varsity basketball. Four M-C girls are participating. Udstuen explained, “The agreement follows the traditional agreement we have had in the past with M-C. We looked at what the program costs the school and all the costs associated with it, transportation, coaches, refs, everything. Then we looked at the number of participants in the sports. Then, divide total costs by the number of participants, and that is their participant’s cost.” Udstuen added, “Practice has already started. I think things are going very well.”
In other business, the board:
•Accepted the 2022-2023 World’s Best Workforce summary report. Meinertz explained that the goal is to have Spring Grove students career or college-ready upon graduation.
•Approved the first reading of the proposed policy updates recommended by the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA). The updates were shared in MSBA’s October 17 newsletter.
•Approved the following three school board meeting dates: December 18, at 7 p.m., January 16, 2024, at 7 p.m. and February 20, 2024, at 6 p.m.
•Adjourned the meeting at 7:36 p.m.
The next regular meeting of the Spring Grove Public School Board is at 7 p.m. on Monday, December 18 in the school’s Learning Resource Center. The meeting is open to the public. In addition, the school continues to offer board meetings on Google Meet for anyone who would like to attend virtually. For assistance monitoring the meeting, contact the district office at (507) 498-3221 or email rachel.udstuen@springgrove.k12.mn.us.
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