The Becker School Board met Monday and Member Ryan Obermoller ignited the meeting with a special gift.

Donation

Obermoller, a director on the Dylan’s Hope Foundation Board, donated a $25,000 check to Becker Schools on behalf of the foundation’s golf tournament that took place last month.

The 8th Annual Dylan’s Hope Golf Tournament was held Aug. 14 at Pebble Creek as part of a four-person scramble. The organization was created out of love in memory of Dylan Britt Aaseby of Becker, who died of a suicide in 2013 at the age of 17. Dylan’s Hope Foundation is a local non-profit Organization dedicated to the prevention of suicide through public awareness and community outreach.  Their goal is to educate and increase discussion about suicide prevention and awareness throughout the communities of Minnesota.

Supt.’s Report

Supt. Jeremy Schmidt said the fall staff development program was dedicated to preparation for an abnormal start to the school year. Teaching staff were given more time to work within their rooms and on their teams. Administration went over information related to new processes and procedures. All new teaching staff members were introduced in a video.

“We will be introducing other staff through a different method that we have yet to determine,” said Schmidt.

The building-level programs included improving school climate, staff goal setting, Distance Learning Playbook.

Schmidt said the first week of school went great. Face covering compliance is at nearly 100%, and staff are working through this and other opportunities for improvement throughout the first week or two. Schmidt said the school has received reports from OSHA and BCA on non-compliance, but overall things are going well and staff are working to eliminate any issues.

Schmidt said the October school board meeting is scheduled for Oct. 5, while the November meeting was changed Nov. 3 to show a date of November 9, 2020 due to canvassing of votes.

Schmidt said the MSBA Fall Workshop Phase III and Phase IV registration is open. These are two-part trainings and have Wednesday evening and Saturday morning options.

Schmidt asked the board to approve the consent agenda as well as the acceptance of gifts.

Schmidt recommended the first reading for Policy 522-Title IX Sex Non-Discrimination Policy, Grievance Procedure and Process and recommended approval  of the MOU for Unrequested Leave of Absence.

Schmidt said Kevin Januszewski and he recommend approval of the sale of General Obligation Refunding Bonds as noted in the resolutions and recommends approval of the transfer of funds to Community Education Camp Opportunity for $60,000 and School Readiness in the amount of $40,000.

Schmidt says the levy certification documents for Minnesota’s public schools have been issued. The first “levy run” typically contains errors. Januszewski will work with MDE to correct the calculations over the next few weeks and will review the preliminary Payable 2021 levy information at the school board meeting.

The Pay 21 Preliminary Levy is comparable to the Pay 20 Levy.

Schmidt recommended approving the maximum preliminary certification.

Schmidt also discussed a presentation covering the 20-21 budget and the Payable 2021 Levy that will be provided at the Dec. 7 regular school board meeting. The final levy amount will be approved by the board at that time.