The Murray County School Board met on Dec. 13, 2021. The Agenda was approved. No one from the public was present for the Truth in Taxation Payable 2022 Hearing. The Budget has been published in the editorial group. Property taxes went down .16%. If yours looks different, it is from some other reason, such as, your property value has risen.
The Minutes, Financials and Personnel changes were all approved. Personnel changes included: Shannon Bakke, Paraeducator 12/9/21 New Hire; Leah Carlson, Paraeducator Long-term Substitute 1/3/22 New Hire; Lauren Gillette, Elementary Principal’s Administrative Assistant 1/3/22 New Hire; Mary Beech, Secondary School Counselor 6/30/22 Retirement; Tiffany Lambertus, Paraeducator 2/14/22 General Leave of Absence. The Board thanked Mrs. Beech for her years of service. She has been a counselor for the last 15 years. She was a paraprofessional before that.
Blake Klinsing, from Meulebroeck, Taubert &Co. PLLP, CPAs was on hand to give the FY 2021 Audit Report. This was approved.
A resolution was made to designate the Slayton Senior Center as the one polling place for 2022 elections. This is the same place it has been the last two years. No one was present for the Open Forum.
Elementary Principal Todd Burlingame reported that 2 students that have been using the Stars Online Academy, have now been vaccinated and are returning to in-person learning at MCC. Six staff members have been trained in the Orton Gillingham program. This intervention is working well and they are already seeing student growth. He hopes to get more K-2 teachers trained next summer. Della Haupert is retiring as Elementary secretary. Lauren Gillette, who will be taking her position has been training with her and looks to be a good fit for our school. They have hired Jaylynn Lauer as a Math Corps teacher to begin on Jan. 17. She will be serving 4th-6th graders. Many activities are planned for the remaining time before Christmas. The final week will focus on kindness and the joy that giving brings. On Monday, Dec. 20, all elementary students will make Christmas cards to be delivered to Lindenwood, Sunrise Terrace, MCMC Hospital, Prairie View and Almich’s. Tuesday, Dec. 21 students may bring $1 for the United Way, for all that they do for our district. And on Wednesday, Dec. 22 they are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for the Food Shelf. Thursday, Dec. 23, West dismissal will be at 12:30. Secondary Principal Jake
Scandrett shared that he has begun meeting with department chairs to plan course offerings for the next school year. Students will be registering for next year’s classes at the beginning of the next semester. ACT test scores are in. MCC’s 2021 composite score was 22.4, up from 19.6 the previous year. This is above the state average which also increased from 21.3 to 21.6. He next gave an update on the CEO program. We are nearing the goal of 35 business investors at $1000 a year for 3 years to make the program sustainable. He extended a big Thank You to all of the community businesses and many organizations who have partnered with MCC. There are also a number of people and businesses who would like to speak to this group or be mentors to the students. “It’s heart-warming to see how our communities rally around our students and our school in general. Thank you again to all the community businesses that decided to partner with us.” Next up for the CEO Board is student recruitment, hiring a facilitator (coordinator of the program) and undergoing more training for the continuation and maintenance of our CEO program. Mr. Scandrett has begun by giving a presentation to the Kiwanis and is planning to speak with other organizations. “The businesses have really stepped up to this idea saying, it’s a Win/Win, For the businesses to show the opportunities available locally and for the students to maybe decide to settle back in the area, keeping local talent local.” The PBIS committee at the high school is planning an Activity/Student Choice day on Thursday December 23rd to celebrate meeting our MCA goals last year. Many activities are being planned. The students will choose and sign up for those they wish to participate in.
Next, Superintendent Meyer gave his report. The first snow day we had on Friday, Dec.10 will be forgiven, as per contract agreement. The next 5 snow days will be e-learning days. They will be called early enough for people to be aware of them. The 2022- 2023 school calendar has been drafted. Copies will be sent to Mr. Harms, President to the Education Association and a Meet and Confer meeting will be set-up for input from the teachers. It should be ready for approval during the January or February meetings. School will be dismissed at 12:15 on Dec. 23 and resume on Jan. 3, 2022.
Current Covid numbers are available on the Dashboard. We continue to be below 1%. We watch them daily and send out notices when we are informed of any cases involving the school. The OSHA vaccine mandate order is in a Stay Order. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has the case currently. Nothing is in the works. They are not making any ruling. The Jan. 4 date won’t be met if they do rule that it will become a mandate. Right now we are in a wait and see mode. We will continue until we hear further. MCC conducted a voluntary survey recently. 95/121 employees responded. Of those responding, 74% have been fully vaccinated. 26% have not. Of the 26%, 81% do not plan to be vaccinated, 15% are unsure and 4% plan to be vaccinated. This information will guide us should they initiate the vaccination order. He next reported on the ESSER funding. Our applications for ESSER III (FIN 160 and 161) have both been approved meeting the requirements. The budget for FIN 160 has been submitted and is under process ($546,784). FIN 161 ($136,696) budget will be submitted in the next month. Enrollment Loss (FIN 171) application has been submitted and approved. A budget will be submitted in the next month ($20,000). He admits these have been a lot of work, but we have been receiving the money we have been allocated. Mr. Meyer then thanked Mr. Burlingame and Mrs. Boerboom for getting the Orton Gillingham training set up. This is something that uses ESSER money and is money well spent. He then thanked Mr. Scandrett for all of the extra time and legwork he has put into the CEO program. Other administrators say this is the best High School program they have seen in many years in education. Mr. Meyer also thanked Activities Director James Wajer for getting us back to a normal routine for activities. “Being able to have concessions and attend activities helps our culture and climate.”
Mr. Wajer next gave a recap of the fall activities. Amanda Overgauuw won the State Cross Country Meet. Ashley Overgauuw came in 6th. The girls team also placed 6th. Dominick Damm was named Coach of the Year. Football wrapped up their season losing to the eventual champion, Mayer Lutheran. Patrick Freeman was chosen Section 3A Coach of the Year and also selected MN Vikings Coach of the week, given $1,000 which will be put toward the football program. Dawson Blankenship was selected as an All-State Academic Recipient (only 24 are honored in the state of MN) He was honored at the All-Star Football game where Nate Kleven was selected to play, representing the best football players from around the state.
The Drama Department performed the Wizard of Oz. This was a huge success! Working around the football tournament schedule, they performed to a packed house on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
MSHSL has passed the clock shot rule. Mr. Wajer is looking into purchasing these. They will cost about $5,000 per gym and will be required for the 23-24 season. They will also need to train operators. Winter activities have begun. Girls Basketball is 1/3 for the season and 0/1 in the conference. Junior High has played 4 games. There are 28 girls out for Varsity and 13 in JH. Boys Basketball is 1/2 for the season. JH has played 4 games. The Cheer Team has 8 participants. They will cheer at all home Varsity and JV games, both boys and girls. Wrestling has 24 participants, 13 are from MCC, 11 from Fulda. Junior High Knowledge Bowl has had 5 contests. There are 22 participants. Senior High team just met. They will start their season with a home meet on Jan. 10, 2022. The Speech Team just had their pre-season meeting and will start practic ing. MCC has received a $900 grant from a MSHSL Foundation to help student athletes with participation fees.
There was no old business. The board certified the 2021 Payable 2022 Levy and reviewed the 2021 World’s Best Work Force annual report, which is available on the school’s website. Mr. Meyer reported on the WBWF Achievement and Integration, which is also on the website. They voted on the MREA Board of Directors.
Finally, the MCC School Board gratefully accepted the following donations: First National Bank, $525.11 - Class of 2022; Rita Lear, $211.00 - Backpack Program; First Presbyterian Church, $190.00 - Backpack Program, State Bank of Chandler, $50 - Warrior Wrestling, MCC Staff, $100.00 - Scholarship: Slayton Firemen, $1,000.00 - Culture Club; Monogram Meats, $500.00 - Culture Club; Hadley Lions, $500.00 - Culture Club; Area Farmers, $4,260.72 - FFA Corn Drive.
The next meeting will begin at 6:00 pm on January 10, 2022 with the reorganizational meeting, followed by the regular monthly meeting.
