Last Monday, the Becker School Board discussed the upcoming Esser Two funding. 

Esser Two funds are set to come out in February. The original Esser (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) One funds were a part of the funding that the school received last fall to help combat the COVID-19 situation. The second round of funding is set to be distributed in February, but Supt. Jeremy Schmidt was unsatisfied with the guidelines the school had been given, and with the amount of money the school was set to receive. 

Schmidt made an appointment with a couple of the financial officers of the Minnesota Dept. of Education (MDE) for Feb. 10 in order to understand better the vague and confusing guidelines, and to know why his school is receiving significantly less money than schools in the cities, instead receiving about the same amount as much smaller schools than Becker. As a comparison, Schmidt stated that schools in the cities are receiving around $2,700 per pupil, while Becker has been allotted $86 per pupil.

Board member Mark Swanson encouraged citizens to email their representatives and the MDE about the issue, since hearing the voices of the citizens really does make an impact. The MDE can be emailed at MDE.ContactUs@state.mn.us.

Student’s report

One student council member gave the student’s report to the school board. 

Secondary students have transitioned back to a hybrid model, with Group A students attending on Monday and Tuesday, Group B students attending on Wednesday and Thursday, and all students attending from a distance on Friday.

The student council will be writing a newspaper article on how the different activity groups have adapted to comply with COVID-19

The National Honor Society is collecting cans for “OutFront Minnesota.”

Student council is making plans for an Arbor Day event, and to promote seatbelt safety.

Most high school sports are back with masking regulations.

Superintendent’s Report

Minnesota School Board Association Officer’s workshops are taking place throughout February. All board members are invited to attend, if they choose. 

Around 200 school staff members have received their COVID-19 vaccines. Supt. Schmidt stated he was glad some of his staff was able to get the vaccinations as the state switches to a lottery system to distribute vaccinations going forward.

COVID-19 numbers are continuing to drop, with statistics showing the statewide infection rate at 3.2%. An infection rate under five percent indicates that the community transmission is under control. Staff is being screened for the disease once every other week.

Upcoming Bond Referendum

Supt. Schmidt presented the “Playbook” for the upcoming referendum, covering improvements to the school campus and buildings as outlined by a poll sent out to residents last fall. The goal of the board is to have the referendum pass, and then to refinance existing school board debt in order to pay for the improvements without the need to raise taxes. Schmidt went over the reasoning behind the items on the referendum. The board will be planning some public meetings where citizens may voice their opinions on the bond referendum. The voting will take place May 11. 

Spring Break

The board discussed whether or not to bring back spring break. The reasoning behind not having a spring break was that families tended to have their own spring breaks that didn’t match up with the school calendar, keeping students out of school for a longer period of time. The board therefore decided to give the students and staff a couple of long weekends during the spring trimester instead, so when families inevitably decided to take their vacation when it worked for them, there was less worry about students being out of school for an extended period of time. 

However, board member Aaron Jurek thought it would be prudent to re-address the issue in order to hear the opinions of the two new board members. All the board members seemed inclined to stick to the current system of having a couple of long weekends. The board approved the calendar as it was presented, but could always revisit the topic if they felt a need to do so.