School Board members Lenette Brown and Derek Nelson were absent for the July 25, 2024 meeting of the Big Lake School Board. Much of what was covered in the meeting was a review of the 2023-2024 School year.
School Activities
Activities Director, Mark Kuisle gave a review of school activities from the just completed school year.
Kuisle highlighted a number of achievements for Big Lake Sports. The Boys’ Cross Country team were section team champions, finishing in seventh place at state, and had two students — Jack Lauer and Owen Layton — named All-State. Greta Layton was a Girls’ Cross County state qualifier.
The volleyball team was a section runner-up and in swim and dive, Torri Ramert was a diving state qualifier. Rylie Sternquist became a 1,000-point scorer this year in Girls Basketball and in Gymnastics, Amandan Grunewald was a state qualifier.
The Big Lake wrestling team had four individual state qualifiers. Of note was Carson Gellerman, who took third place. Boys lacrosse achieved a first, they had their first sectional playoff win in program history. Lastly, in track and field, there were three state champions – Jack Lauer (800 m), Owen Layton (1600 m), and Tayla Gassman (shot put and discus).
Kuisle continued to summarize all school activities. He said there were 13 activities in the 2023-24 school year that focused on Fine Arts. Sixteen sports were offered at the Middle School level and 26 Minnesota High School League sports offered at the High School. Over 300 events were hosted and over 800 unduplicated students (just under 50% of the student population) participated in activities last year.
Finances
Angie Manuel gave an in-depth presentation about the financials. Overall, she said they are looking good and current audits are going well. On July 18, the school received an on-site program review of the Summer Food Program. Manuel shared that participants were “very complimentary about the program and staff.”
School Policy Review
According to School Supt. Tim Truebenbach, it is the goal of the school board to review every school policy at least once a year. Changes are made to clarify language, address concerns, or because of changes to state and/or federal law. A number of policies were reviewed and approved by the Board.
Upcoming Election
A resolution was passed calling to hold a general election for the purpose of electing three school board members for four-year terms to coincide with state elections to be held on Tues., Nov. 5, 2024.
Also on the ballot is a three question referendum. A dedicated website was launched to address voter questions and concerns on the measures. Citizens of Big Lake can go to https://www.biglakethrivingtogether.org/ to learn more.
