Resolutions approving the revised FY 2015 and new FY 2016 budgets were among the items on the agenda for the regular meeting of the Becker Board of Education Monday night.  The board also adopted the 2016-17 school calendar, agreed to a lease agreement for 1,460 new iPad® devices, passed a resolution mandating “unrequested leave” for one teacher and approved a proposal to hire a consultant to review current administrative staffing positions.

 

Also on the agenda were reports from transportation consultant Tom Watson, Curriculum Director Jean Duffy and Director of Instructional Technology Ryan Cox.

 

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Dawn Gulczinski addressed the board to urge them to resolve the ongoing contract negotiations with the Becker Multi-Group Union chapter of SEIU Union Local 284.  She stated that the union has not had a contract increase over several previous negotiations, and she urged the board to take that into consideration during the current negotiations.  The next negotiation session will be  Monday night.  A group of union members came to the podium with Gulczinski in support of her remarks to the board.

 

The board approved resolutions approving the revised 2014-15 budget and the original 2015-16 budget figures presented by District Business Mgr. Joe Prom. 

 

The 2014-15 figures showed an audited fund balance as of 6/30/14 of $5,784,416, with 2014-15 revenues of $31,866,292, expenditures of $35,588,065, “other” financing of $170,000 and a variance of a negative $3,551,773 ($3,245,000 in the building construction fund and $152,021 in the debt service fund) and a projected fund balance on 6/30/2015 of $2,232,643.

 

The 2015-16 original budget showed revenues of all funds at $32,820,350, expenditures of $33,857,542 and “other” funding sources at $614,000 with a variance of a negative $423,192.  The projected 6/30/2016 fund balance is $1,809,451.

 

The complete text and charts of the budgets approved are available on-line in the school board section of the school district website.

 

The board approved the 2016-17 district calendar on a vote of four yea and one nay, with Chairman Aaron Jurek, Clerk Mark Swanson and directors Phil Norgaard and Bryan Olson in favor and Treasurer Lori Molus against.  Vice-Chairman Jason Kindred did not attend the Monday meeting.

 

The 2016-17 school year will begin on Sept. 6, 2016 and end on June 1, 2017, with a total of 173 student contact days and nine teacher staff development days per the current contract.  The calendar includes a winter break Dec. 23-30 and a spring break April 14-17.  Graduation in 2017 will be on Friday, May 26.

 

Following a discussion, the board voted to approve a new lease for 1,460 Apple® iPad Mini 3 devices with cases.  Superintendent Dr. Stephen Malone recommended approval of the lease in his meeting comments, which said that the proposal “supports the district 1:1 initiative.”

 

Jurek commented that the iPad devices do not have the features of laptop computers, and he wondered if students were not being done a “disservice” by not having the kind of equipment they will find in the business environment after their education is completed.  Swanson said that the board should “think differently” about how the devices are used in education, and he stated that the iPads provide a number of important functions in the classroom.

 

In his report, Cox stated that the cost for individual laptop computers would be $858.97 per device, compared to $303.95 for the iPads.

 

Cost of the lease is estimated at $443,767, with a down payment of $114,321 in July, and equal payments of the same amount in 2016, 2017 and 2018.  Total interest costs will be $13,518, with the best rates coming from Apple Finance at 1.8%.

 

The board approved the measure on a 4-1 vote, with Jurek opposed and Molus, Norgaard, Swanson and Olson voting in favor of the resolution.

 

The board unanimously approved a resolution to place teacher Amber Einerwold on an unrequested leave of absence effective at the end of the 2014-15 school year on June 30, 2015.  The leave is without pay or fringe benefits, pursuant to the regulations in M.S. 122A.40. subdivision 11, according to the text of the resolution.

 

According to the documents presented, the action was taken because of “Discontinuance of Position, Lack of Pupils and Financial Limitations.”  The Middle School Spanish position Einerwold held was discontinued for the coming year as part of the budget adjustments put forward by the administration.  She had appeared before the board at a previous meeting to cite the importance of languages in student development, and to urge them not to replace the Spanish class with additional physical education times.

 

In response to questions from board members at the March meeting regarding current administrative staff levels in a time of budget cuts and reductions, Malone presented a proposal to the board under which consultant Greg Vandal would be hired to conduct interviews and compile date beginning in April and concluding with a presentation to the board at a July work session.

 

Swanson said that the board should be consulted during the fact-finding process, but Olson felt otherwise, saying “What could he get out of me, or you?”  The discussion concluded with the decision to have board members submit questions to Jurek during the process.  At that point the board unanimously approved the proposal, which will have an estimated cost of $6,600.

 

Transportation consultant Tom Watson reported the second half of his findings to the board at the Monday meeting.  His analysis indicated that the current staffing levels in the transportation department would cost the district $47,000 in wages and benefits and $81,000 in contracted repairs for a total of $128,000 with 2,400 employee hours logged.

 

A proposal involving in-house maintenance would incur a cost of $77,000 in wages and benefits for a lead mechanic and $18,000 for an assistant mechanic for a program beginning on July 1, 2015 with an estimated 2,800 employee hours.

 

The proposal would reflect a cost savings of $33,000 for the district.

 

Duffy gave a presentation on the current state of classes Becker students now take finance and reasoning skills, guidance and transitions, digital citizenship, comprehensive personal finance as a business dept. elective and college and career readiness in the Ramp-Up to Readiness phase.

 

Cox presented an update on the current state of educational technology, highlighting the efforts of the Student Technology Advisory Council and the technology now being applied in all district buildings.  He also outlined the lease agreement the board later approved for the 1,460 new Apple® iPad Mini 3 devices.

 

Malone reported the district will be designating space in the high school for a mental health service area.  Sharon Kuhlmann, RNC, LMFC will be in the center on Tuesday mornings twice each month, and will be providing mental health services to students at a reduced rate, with participating families completing the same billing, insurance and permission forms as they would at her clinic office.  The Dylan’s Hope Foundation is making funds available to families who cannot otherwise afford the services, Malone stated.