It was business as usual for the Murray County School Board at its regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 9 in the high school library.
After the agenda was approved without additions or deletions, the board moved on to the consent agenda items, eventually approving all seven of them. A motion carried to approve the minutes of the Sept.
11 regular board meeting as well as the Sept. 18 special board meeting, which went into closed session and eventually concluded with a resolution proposing discipline of an employee being unanimously approved by the board. Details on the employee are private data until final disposition of the disciplinary action.
Regarding claims, Business Director Lisa Rademacher noted that the district’s bills were a lot smaller this month compared to last month. Regarding the trial balance and cash flow projections, Rademacher shared that the interest rate didn’t go up as much as it had been. “It is slowing down,” she said. “It is affecting the stock market, the bonds. It’ll probably slow down now.”
In reference to a quarterly activities report, Rademacher said she thought it would be better to wait for the auditor’s report next month since the audit is currently going on and there might be some receivables being updated within the district in the near future.
The last consent agenda item approved was Superintendent Joe Meyer’s personnel recommendations. He noted that there was a resignation (Jes-the students with the dress up days, class wars and pep fest during homecoming week. The After School Academy recently started from 3:15-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday for elementary students in grades 4-6. The goal of the program is to provide extra support for students in areas they are struggling or who need more time to work on assignments. A fundraiser update shows $15,600 as of Friday, though Freeman believes they may have just met their goal about an hour prior to the board meeting. He shared that teachers have been doing a great job supporting the program, as have the students, shirt sponsors and others. The Fun Run Day will be held Friday, Oct. 13. Cold and rain is predicted, so the plan is to have the run indoors at West Elementary, where there will be plenty of room to host parents and have the pork producer picnic.
Freeman said he and MCC High School Principal Jake Scandrett attended a special education law conference and came back with great information regarding updates. On Monday, Oct. 16, the ECHO dance team from New York will put on an interactive showcase of high-energy dancing while spreading a positive message based on respect, responsibility and anti-bullying — a message that seems in line with their Rebel pride as well, Freeman said. “It’s a good way, especially with October being anti-bullying month, to get an assembly done,” he said. “It’s a requirement that we have to do something new for the kids. I think it’ll be a good message for our kids.” Freeman said they’ve had good feedback with their weekly PBIS assemblies, which bring all grades together to celebrate all the positive behavior students are displaying. The top rewards — riding in the cop car and splashball a staff member — were great successes. The fourth-grade lunch buddy program is back in place, with more than 40 volunteers. It was in place since 2001 but went away during COVID. “It’s a great tradition,” Freeman said. “It’s about creating those positive relationships.
Scandrett gave a big thank you to everyone who helped out with homecoming, including staff, students, community members, parents who chipped in to work on floats, and student council. “Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming with all the activities, but the kids really enjoy it,” Scandrett said. “It’s those traditions that set that foundation, I think, for the entire year, so the kids feel a sense of Rebel pride.”
This year, MCC is recognizing Indigenous Peoples Days. It’s a new statute for mandatory education if districts have school that day, much like the district would observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Veterans Day. “We are required to provide some training or education for students,” Scandrett said. “I talked to our social studies department a little bit and felt that the most relevant information would be to tie it to some local native American sites and experiences, so we looked at Pipestone National Monument. They had a really great video on their website, so students watched that (Monday), as well as another video on why some states are moving away from Columbus Day to Indigenous People Day.”
Scandrett said high school teachers will continue working on their curriculum maps for the first early out on Wednesday, Oct. 11. High School conferences will be from 3:30-7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 6 in the new gym. It’s a good time for parents to connect with teachers and check in on how things are going with their child. Preparations have begun for the American Education celebration (6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14) and Veterans Day program (2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10. The CEO program is off to a great start. RTR has reached out and expressed interest in joining the program. Scandrett attended a law seminar hosted by the MASSP attorney to review the latest legislative changes and updates.
Meyer said he and Rademacher attended the annual tax levy workshop sponsored by Southwest West Central Service Cooperative and put on by Cathy Erickson, School Finance director at the Minnesota Department of Education. “We have made some minor adjustments since our last meeting in which you approved the max, but our recent run on Oct. 4 shows us at a 37.78% increase in the levy dollars, which is primarily due to our capital projects levy that was passed by our constituents last May,” Meyer said. The district also received a visit from MDE’s Director of Student and Educator Support Greg Keith on Monday. The purpose of the visit was for the department to get to know MCC on a personal level, ultimately getting to know their team, listening to their concerns and ideas, experiencing the great work the district is doing for its students and strengthening the relationship between the school community and MDE. “At times, we felt like we were bombarding him, but he was attentive and assured us that he was taking our message back,” Meyer said.
Meyer sent out a data privacy letter to meet the legal requirement regarding the technology provider products, including product descriptions, used in the schools. The teacher group presented a new counter proposal since the Sept. 27 meeting. That was discussed in closed session on Monday. Meyer said he did get an update from the para group on Monday as well. A recent email revealed that the cooks and custodians group want to put things on hold until the teachers are done negotiating.
National School Principal Month is being celebrated. Meyer wanted to publicly thank Freeman and Scandrett for all they do. “Their leadership has a direct, positive impact on the success of our schools, the students that we serve and the people that they lead,” he said. “So thank you guys. I appreciate your leadership, not only this month but all months.” The district also celebrated National Custodian Appreciation Day on Oct. 2. “Custodians deserve to be celebrated every day for the work that they do, but the 2nd was the day that we provided them with cards, signs and goodies from students and teachers, to show them appreciation for keeping our schools, buildings and grounds safe and clean,” Meyer said. The gym floor dedication was held on Thursday, Oct. 5, with a short program and recognition of the corporate donor and other level donors that they have up to this point. The total donation amount to date is $91,270.
Activities Director James Wajer said the marching band had a great competitive season. In September, MCC took home the Class A first place trophy at the Turkey Trot in Worthington and the Class A first place trophy at the Tri-State Band Festival in Luverne. Recently, at the last competition of the year, the Rebels were the first place champion in Class A at the Festival of Bands in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “The commitment, dedication and pride that has been shown by the band and advisors is second to none,” Wajer said. “They have one more opportunity to showcase their talents, on Oct. 30, at our annual MCC indoor band concert.”
Wajer added that all the athletic teams have been busy. Seeding meetings will happen soon. Junior high sports will close out their seasons this week. The cheer team was judged in three categories in Woodbury. Junior high knowledge bowl has started. He thanked all the coaches, paid and volunteer, noting that all those hours behind the scenes do not go unnoticed.
Meyer thanked the county for allowing the district to use four sections of their portable bleachers during their gym floor project. He thought it worked out really well for their home events held in there. “We wouldn’t have been able to seat everybody if we hadn’t been able to borrow them,” Meyer said. “Justin Hoffman was really helpful in getting them over to us. We’ll be taking them out of here on Wednesday and getting them back to the county. I just wanted to thank the county for their partnership and cooperation with us. We have a good relationship there.”
In new business, the board approved an out-of-state anatomy trip, an annual cadaver education tour at SDSU, for 13 students in November.
The board also voted in favor of the 2023-24 master fundraising list. Fundraisers outside this list will need to get individual approval. Motions also carried for Minnesota State High School League Form A Resolution and Form B Resolution which consists of potential grant dollars to be used for students who might need help with student activity fees (Form A) and to support specific functions for students/ faculty members/officials or assist schools with providing seminars or training opportunities (Form B).
In old business, the board approved a motion to solicit bids to demolish a house located at 2838 King Avenue in Slayton. Meyer shared that the water had been turned off and that the power had been disconnected and shut off as well. When asked if they were obligated to go through with the project right away if they went out for bids now, Meyer said they can accept or deny all bids. He referenced that the county had recently went out for bids and that they had three or four come back. “In talking to Weston Mahon from the city, he said there was a really competitive bid that came in and the guy does really good work on the projects he’s done in the city,” Meyer said. “He recommended reaching out to him.”
When asked if there was an option to have the fire department use it as training, Meyer said he was told by City Administrator Josh Malchow that they could not burn it down anymore.
The board approved a resolution accepting donations, including ones designated to the Elementary Fun Run: Minnwest Bank $300, KDL Insurance $300, Maple Path Financial $300, Schaap Sanitation $300, Sweetman Farms $200, J Allen Pt Videography $100, Pipestone Holdings $100, Broadway Beauty Salon $100, Ludolph Brothers $300, C & L Sealcoating $300, The Hut $100, MN Soybean Processors $300, Slayton Kiwanis $100, BE Miller Fertilizer $200, Hadley Lions $300, Thrifty White Pharmacy $100, Left Bank Café $100, Corner Salon $100 and Wheel Herald $200.
The resolution accepting donations also included ones designated to the Gym Floor Project: Henry & Carol Veldhuisen $200, Pipestone Vet Clinic $100, Cody & Amber Hansen $100, Brian & Robin Gilbertson $500, Jeaneen Nelson $250, Brent & Emily Miller $500, Tony & Darcey Doeden $150 and Robert & Susan Gass $1,000. Other donations include: K12 itc $376.26 Staff Meal, Murray County Medical Center $200 Stuff the Bus, MCC Football Boosters $3,360.95 HUDL & BSN Sports, Murray County ECI $10,000 LETRS Sponsorship, Murray County Foundation $7,500 Scholarships, MCC Staff $125 Scholarships and Connie Shaver, LLC $500 Drama.
The next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 13 in the high school library.
