Supt. Jeremy Schmidt and Vice Chair Connie Robinson were absent for the March 8, 2025 meeting of the Becker School Board. Middle School Student Council Co-Presidents Hallie Adelman and Marriah Johnson were joined by Middle School Principal Chantel Boyer, MS Assistant Principal Kevin Beehler, and Media Assistant and Student Council Advisor Kim Handeland to present to the board an overview of what the MS student council had accomplished since the beginning of the year.
Adelman explained some of the community projects that they performed including making Christmas and Valentine Day cards to give to local seniors who reside at Shepard of Grace in Becker, holding a food drive for the food shelf, and collecting toys for Toys for Tots. Johnson gave a list of the activities they planned – activity nights, spirit week, pep fests, and hat days. Members of the MS Student Council helped with Career Day, Fundraiser distribution, and Unity Day.
Boyer praised the student council and the co-presidents.
“They have done so much work over the last few years,” she said. “Their voice has become just a huge part of our school and I really appreciate the work that all of them have done recently.”
She also acknowledged the culture building that they have done.
“We’re really trying to bring that student voice more and more at that middle school level - to be able to let them be heard on just things that they want to look at and discuss.”
Supt. Report
Aaron Jurek, School Board Chair, provided the Superintendent’s Report in Schmidt’s absence. MCA’s will go from March 5-May 9. This is a statewide, annual test that measures achievement on the Minnesota Academic Standards in reading, mathematics, and science.
In his submitted report, Supt. Schmidt noted that he has been busy at the Capital testifying on the impact of the decommissioning of the Sherco plant and what can be done to bring more jobs and opportunities to Becker to increase the tax base. He shared ideas on how schools could implement the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act to limit their financial impact and cuts to staffing with more support from the state.
Bills of interest to Becker Schools include increasing the Local Optional Revenue for MN schools. LOR is a funding mechanism that allows school districts to levy additional funds without a referendum to supplement their general education funding. A State Senate proposal increases it from $724 per student to $920. A House bill increases per student funding to $974. HF 51 and SF1198 are bills that aim to address the district’s infrastructure needs by establishing or modifying funding mechanisms for roof repair and replacement projects. HF 1028 and SF 1612 are bills that propose increased funding for school districts, addressing areas such as general education basic formula allowance, special education cross-subsidy aid, English learner cross-subsidy aid, and Safe Schools revenue.
Donations
A resolution to accept recent donations was approved. The Becker Lions made two donations of $3,000 each for Early Childhood Family Education and Boys Varsity Lacrosse. Soltau Construction donated $500 to the Band Program.
