The Becker School Board met Monday to discuss the MSBA conference, the Big Dog challenge, improved school climate, truth and taxation, a lease purchase agreement and strategic goals.

 

Supt. Stephen Malone said all school board members are registered for the MSBA Conference to be held Jan. 11-12.

 

The theme this year is “Student Achievement: Passion, Perseverance, and Possibility”. A flyer describing the conference was distributed at the meeting.

 

Malone said this is an excellent professional development opportunity and he encouraged board members to attend.

 

He also pointed out he will be one of the presenters at the conference for a Minnesota Innovation Cohort segment. Representatives from the Austin, Stillwater, and Cambridge-Isanti School Districts will also be on the panel along with ignite! Innovation.

 

Malone said the 2017 Big Dog Challenge winners have formed teams. Nov. 28, the teams met and began the design thinking process: further defining the problem, examining alternative solutions, and developing an MVP (Minimum Viable Product).

 

Increased Recess Time is one of the teams with the Ideator being Jen Harmoning. The team includes Stacy Spindler, and Anna Kunz and the District Innovation Coordinator is Christine Glomski.

 

The Alice Training Program’s Ideator is Maggie Maine. The team consists of Mark Kolbinger, Dale Christensen and Tom Ueker. The District Innovation Coordinator is Steve Malone.

 

Outdoor Learning Space’s Ideator is Missy Olson. The team includes Jessica Warzecha and Brenda Holthaus. District Innovation Coordinator is Joe Prom.

 

The following ideas were identified as “Rollout Ready” and will go directly forward to implementation.

 

Student and Staff Health’s  Ideator is Josh Ihrke. The idea is to add another water bottle filling station at the high school next summer.

 

Recycling Bins/Bags Distinction’s Ideator is Dustin Weege. Thier idea is to provide different colored bins for recycling to be utilized throughout the school district beginning with the high school in December.

 

District Wellness’s Ideator is Dan Baird. The idea is to have a committee of teachers and administrators meet and develop guidelines for teachers who wish to exercise during their prep time. A committee of support staff and administrators is meeting in December to develop similar guidelines.

 

Improving School Climate 

Malone said the New Jersey Climate Survey (NJCS) was deployed to teachers last month. The Center of Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), a department within the University of Minnesota has analyzed the data and prepared a report, which he passed out to the board members.

 

“I am developing an action plan with the appropriate principal from each school site to improve school climate,” Malone said. “Teachers will be asked to respond to select questions from the survey again at the end of the school year to measure progress.”

 

Representatives from MLA Architects and ICS met with the Elementary School site-based team Nov. 15 to share the plans for the Primary School addition and solicit input. 

 

Joe Prom, TJ Zerwas, Dale Christensen, and Malone were also present.

 

Soil borings and the site survey will be completed by mid-December. Technology, mechanical engineer, and casework specifications are being completed. 

 

A lease purchase agreement not to exceed $2,600,000 was authorized to finance the construction of the addition.

 

Malone said the school board will be asked to call for bids at the Jan.  8 meeting and accept a bid March 5.

 

Initial site-work will begin March 26, which is the week of Spring break. Malone said appropriate measures will be coordinated with the school district to ensure the safety of students and staff. The completion date is scheduled for Aug. 17, one week before fall staff development begins.

 

Joe Prom, director of business services, presented the truth & taxation report.

 

The 2016-17 all funds results were tendered showing the general fund audited fund balance at $1,620,126. The food service fund balance was at $10,598, the community service fund at $322,790 and the debt service fund at $2,573,947.

 

The 2017-18 general fund audited fund balance was identified at $2,475,844. The food service fund balance was at $15,349, the community service fund at $361,430 and the debt service fund at $2,684,924.

 

 The general fund revenues reflect that 76.9% comes from state sources, 19.5% from property taxes, 0.7% from federal sources and 2.9% from other. General fund expenditures show 67% comes from instruction, 15% from student support services, 11% from maintenance, 7% from admin and district support and 1% from other.

 

Prom noted the Becker student population has grown just about every year since 2011 where there were 2,759 students in the public school system compared to 2,900 expected in 2018.

 

The payable proposed levy for 2018 is $9,992,798 — up 2.97% from 2017. The overall change is a $288,905 increase showing the operating referendum increasing by $147,864, the health and safety increasing by $112,807, the long-term facilities maintenance increasing by $238,027 and all other general fund levies being increased by $15,821.

 

The community ed levy change shows a $5,385 decrease due to school age care decreasing by $4,643 and other community ed levies decreasing by $742.

 

The debt service levy sees a $4,304 increase due to state statute requiring 105% of obligations to be levied.

 

Malone said the first reading of Policy 223 Strategic Goals was last month. He said he has received no public input regarding the policy and recommend adopting the policy.

 

The board concurred.

 

The next Becker School Board meeting is Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m.