As Patriot readers know, the Big Lake School Board is asking taxpayers to approve a referendum to make improvements around the schools. Buildings and grounds manager TJ Zerwas presented the specifics of what the school is asking.

Changes to be made include:

• Media center updates at all four schools;

• Improvement (redesign) of the parent drop-off space at Liberty Elementary School (LES);

• Roofing replacements at LES, Middle School (BLMS), and High School (BLHS);

• Replacement of building control systems at LES, Independence Elementary School (IES), and BLHS;

• Replacements/Updates to HVAC systems at IES and BLHS;

• Remodel of Special Ed spaces at IES and BLMS;

• Relocation of the district office to IES;

• Improvements to IES classrooms;

• Career and tech education spaces added to BLMS and BLHS;

• A new weight room for BLHS.

If the referendum is approved, projects would start next year, though some of the more complex projects may take several years to implement. Questions may be addressed to Supt. Tim Truebenbach via email, T.Truebenbach@BigLakeSchools.org, or phone, 763-262-5218.

The board finished up the meeting by discussing how best to inform the public about the upcoming election.

Preliminary Levy 

Manuel presented the preliminary levy to the board, with a stipulation. 

Should the bond referendum fail in November, Manuel said the school’s plan B is to tackle the campus maintenance projects one by one. Therefore, she purposefully presented a levy that was higher, to give the school enough funds to tackle one of the projects this year. Should the referendum pass, she will remove the extra funds before the levy is officially approved at the truth in taxation meeting Dec. 16.

Even with the higher levy, taxpayers will see taxes decrease this year, due to the increase of the tax base. As an example, Manuel said a homeowner with a roughly $250,000 property value should see around a $60 decrease in taxes for this year (with the higher proposed levy.)

It is worth noting that the referendum being voted on in November would be a tax paid in addition to the levy. Taxpayers will vote yes or no on this Nov. 2, and comments on the levy may be presented to the board at the Dec. 16 meeting. 

Financial Report

Angie Manuel, Director of Business Services, was happy to report some good news in regards to enrollment. After the drop in enrollment last year, this year the school is above what they budgeted for enrollment. Since school funding from the state is determined by the number of students enrolled in the school, this is excellent news.

Recently, Manuel participated in a call as the school prepares to refund a set of bonds (the sale will be completed in a special meeting by the school board Oct. 14). This was a bond rating call, and, since the school recently received a better bond rating, they can expect to get better interest rates on future bonds. Manuel called the new rating an “elite” rating, and it is based on enrollment improvement over many years. 

There will be a free snack program offered this year using federal funding. This program is available to all students enrolled, in any way, in the district.

More federal funding is expected to come into the school through pandemic enrollment loss, emergency funds for food service, ARPA homeless funding, and Part B 611 Special Education Funding. (That last item is specifically geared towards learning recovery for special ed students.)

Social Emotional Learning

Recently, the board resolved to focus on social emotional learning (SEL) in the schools, partly in response to having to send students to learn from home last year. 

Executive director of teaching and learning David Bernard presented some specific strategies for implementing better SEL and Literacy education for students of all grades. These strategies include:

• Academic Conversations – Structured protocols used to explicitly teach students how to engage in discussions about their learning;

• Response (low-stakes) Writing – Informal writing processes that support student thinking and learning. More frequent writing results in better learners, thinkers, readers, and writers.

• Vocabulary Expansion – Explicitly teaching background knowledge through academic and content-focused vocabulary instruction. Vocabulary instruction will increase reading skills and academic performance.

• Comprehension – Explicitly teaching students strategies to make meaning of and communicate their thinking, understanding, and learning.

• Foundational Skills – Focusing on the science of reading and providing ongoing explicit instruction to support our emerging readers.

Teachers will also have access to a tool called Swivl, which attaches to the teacher’s clothing will record them during their lecture so the teacher can review the lessons later and ensure they are implementing the strategies laid out here.