The board heard a presentation of the 2013-14 annual school district audit by Nancy Schulzetenberg of the accounting firm of Kern DeWenter Viere in St. Cloud.  In the presentation it was stated that the district had a beginning fund balance of $952,058 as of 7/01/13, with revenues of $25,420,906 for the 2013-14 school year against expenditures of $25,527,679.  This resulted in a negative change in the fund balance of $106,773, creating an ending fund balance as of 6/30/14 of $845,285.

 

In his meeting notes, Supt. Dr. Stephen Malone said that the 6/30/14 fund balance represents 2.2 per cent of expenditures, a $50,214 decrease from the previous year.  He also wrote that District Policy 714 states that the district will “strive to maintain a minimum unassigned general fund balance of 8 per cent.”

 

In her audit comments, Schulzetenberg said that the Becker district has consistently had revenues and expenses that are below the state average. Business Mgr. Joe Prom said that utilities were the biggest factor last year, with utility costs over by $90,000 and maintenance taking up $2.5 million dollars of the budget.  Expenditures had exceeded revenues for the past five years, except for 2012, Prom said.

 

Vice-Chairman Jason Kindred stated that expenditures had exceeded revenues in the district for the past five years, and he wondered “where the hole in the bucket was” in terms of revenues versus expenses. Chairman Aaron Jurek replied that those figures applied to “unassigned revenues”, not the total budget.  Prom also said the district has had several “spend downs” required by a number of health and safety projects carried out in the past year.  Schultzetenberg also commented that the Community Education budget has seen improvements in each of the past five years.

 

At the conclusion of the presentation, the board voted unanimously to accept the results of the audit.  The complete audit presentation with graphs is available on-line on the school board web site.

 

The board also approved a “Resolution For The Discharge of Employee A”” during the Monday meeting. The dismissal was conducted according to the regulations in place in the Minnesota Veterans’ Preference Act, Statue 197.46.  The resolution stated that the employee was informed of his/her rights under the VPA, and that they had failed to identify a representative for a statutory hearing, which constituted a waiver of a right to a hearing.

 

The employee was then terminated, effective Oct. 17, on the grounds of incompetency and misconduct.  Malone declined to identify the individual, citing Data Privacy restrictions, but he did say that the matter included no criminal activity or law enforcement involvement. 

 

The board approved a special meeting for 6 p.m. on Nov. 10 for the purpose of canvassing the results of the Nov. 4 election.

 

The board approved a proposal to advertise for applications from candidates to fill a vacancy on the Becker Board of Education.  The vacancy will be advertised in the district newspaper of record, the “Sherburne County Citizen,” with a deadline set for applications to be presented in the district secretary’s office by the close of business on Mon., Nov. 24.  The board members expressed the hope that at least three candidates would come forward, and that they could be interviewed during the Mon., Dec. 1 board meeting.  Jurek stated that it would be beneficial to have a member in place by January of next year for the organizational meeting.

 

Board member Sheri Lumley had resigned her position by letter on Wed., Oct. 8.  The board formally accepted her resignation at the Monday meeting.

 

The board also conducted a first reading of Policy 223 – Strategic Goals, and engaged in a lengthy discussion of goal-setting in the areas of creativity and technology, and in creating ways to measure actual productivity in terms of student and community satisfaction with the current level of extra-curricular activities.  Board member Mark Swanson said that the district needed a framework to measure the impact of new facilities such as the Performing Arts Center and new swimming pool.

 

Malone said that activity coaches are currently creating purpose statements for the Minnesota State high School League that will include these areas.  Board member Bryan Olson asked if the outcome of these statements should or could be approved by the school board, and Malone replied that they could.

 

Board members also discussed ways to measure the impacts of individual activities, such as sports, and the arts, as it pertains to the new facilities.

No formal action was taken after the discussion was concluded.