The Becker school board met last week. in the Teaching and Learning Center to discuss various topics on their agenda. Among those discussed were the school’s environmental-friendly programs, a federal grant, January’s financial report, resolutions, a grievance filed by Larry Farr, gifts and the stakeholder process for this year.
Becker Supt. Dr. Stephen Malone, says he is proud of the fact that the Becker School District continues to be a regional leader in protecting the environment.
“We demonstrate responsible global citizenship that sets a good example for students and other organizations. In addition to recycling and creating solar power, our school district now utilizes a waste-to-energy program and organic recycling,” he explained.
To make recycling easier for students and staff alike, blue recycling containers were placed in multiple locations all over the school district in January. The wood shop dust waste is now being organically recycled, and all trash from the schools is processed at the Energy From Waste Station in Elk River to generate electricity.
“Additionally, there are solar panels above the aquatic center, and we purchase shares from the community solar gardens located in Sauk Rapids and Sartell which allows us to receive discounts on the electricity bill,” added Dr. Malone.
Another success discussed was the Competitive Federal National School Lunch Program Equipment Grant received by the Becker School District. The maximum grant amount is $25,000 per school. We were awarded $21,655 to purchase a Rational Combi Oven. Becker is grateful to both Renee Arbogast, director of food services and Joe Prom, director of business services for submitting the grant application that made this possible.
The only resolution on the table was to grant the administration the authority to review all programs and positions in developing budget recommendations for the next school year. The school board passed this resolution which will allow the administration to move forward with their evaluations and reduce/discontinue positions and/or programs as they see fit.
A grievance was filed by Larry Farr, the high school custodian. It was reviewed at both levels I and II; the school board ultimately denied the grievance.
In the gifts section, the Robotics team received a $1,000 donation by Darter Plastics, and it was approved by the Becker school board.
The next part of the agenda dealt with setting up goals for the remainder of the year. As part of strategic planning, the following questions will be sent out with stakeholder invitations:
1. What is your expectation of the Becker School District?
2. What are we doing well at Becker Schools?
3. What could Becker Schools do better?
The stakeholder group invitations will go out to 380 staff members, 900 high school parents, about 3,090 parents in general, and all other community members who are neither parents nor employees. A flier went out recently in the Becker City water bills to reach a larger population. May 7, the school board will begin discussing goals for the 2018-2019 year based on the data received from everyone.
The next school board meeting will take place March 5.
