During the last week, many Becker residents may have seen numerous posts on social media about minority students’ rights and the demonstration of the American flags set up by Becker students. Two Becker citizens decided to voice their opinions at the Becker school board meeting. Betsy Armstrong offered her support of the flag demonstration by the students, and Wesley Scott voiced dissatisfaction with the school administration’s help to minority students (including students of different race and/or sexual orientation) facing harassment. 

Betsy Armstrong

Betsy Armstrong of Becker believes a more progressive agenda is being adopted by Minnesota schools, which would discard courses explaining the ideals on which the country was founded. She fears that changes being made would teach kids to define themselves by ethnicity and teach students that white people are guilty of systemic racism. Some Becker students have created a petition to include more classes about the Constitution and the founding of the United States, which Armstrong fully supports. 

Wesley Scott

Wesley Scott of Clear Lake addressed the board on the subject of racism in the schools. He said his daughter had been dealing with the racism in the schools for some time, and that her, and his, attempts to speak with administration about the issue had not helped. He said his daughter will be leaving Becker schools because of this issue. He also noted that despite the fact that there are black residents in Becker, all of the board members are white. He also noted that he saw no photos of black people in the recently published Becker Community Guide.

Superintendent’s 

Report

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about bullying in the schools on social media. Supt. Schmidt assured the audience that all individuals and incidents in question have either been investigated or are being investigated by administration, and the school is working to find growth opportunities for both students and staff. Schmidt read a statement addressing the subject, thanking the community for continuing to support humanitarian rights in the schools. He reinforced that the school strives for equality among students, and will continue to uphold policies regarding harassment. Any harassment based on creed, sexual orientation, race, etc., is not allowed in the schools. Staff and administration will continue to investigate and take action against harassment. Students are encouraged to report bullying to a staff member, and may also do so anonymously using their school-issued iPads. 

The school has received its ESSER II funding, which ended up being about $50,000 less than the predicted amount the Minnesota Dept. of Education had told the school to expect. Schools in Wright county lost even more, with promised ESSER funding being cut in half. 

The Minnesota House DFL Budget is pushing for an increase in aid to schools, including aid to help schools with declining enrollment. The house may choose to consider a separate declining enrollment bill, as well. 

MCA testing has begun and will continue through the middle of May. 

Administration has identified a sufficient number of areas for budget cuts that no teachers will need to be placed on Unrequested Leave of Absence. 

There was an open house on the upcoming referendum election Thursday, April 8, 6-8 p.m. 

Student Report

The student council is working to write an article for the newspaper on their experiences over the last year. 

National Honor Society recently held their Easter fundraiser, wherein, in exchange for donations, they hid Easter eggs in families’ yards for the kids to find on Easter morning. 

The Bulldogs basketball and speech teams have gone on to state. Spring activities starting this week include the drama club’s musical, baseball, track, tennis, softball, golf, and lacrosse. There will be a band concert this coming week and a choir concert in the middle of May. 

Supt. Jeremy Schmidt added that prom is still scheduled to take place May 8, and that the student prom committee is working hard to make sure the event is a success. The graduation committee is also hard at work, and is currently planning on having graduation take place outdoors on the football field. 

Committee Reports

The Finance Committee reviewed predicted spending through June, and though the situation is not ideal, the forecast looks to be better than it had previously. 

TRAK is working on its next “pay-it-forward campaign and finding new ways to connect with the community. They are planning to have one member talk to staff about implicit bias. 

The District Advisory recently reviewed arts and science in the middle school and the high school, and is looking at curriculum to adopt.