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Peyton DeGreeff has signed her letter of intent to play volleyball at MN West-Worthington next year.
The Murray County Central School Board opened up their first meeting of the year with an election of officers.
Tony Clarke maintained his position as Chair, Lauren Biegler remains Clerk, Robin Gilbertdon remains Treasurer and Brent Miller remains Vice Chair. Salaries remain at $70 per meeting, with additional $500 for Chair and $250 for Clerk.
Elementary Principal Patrick Freeman reported that planning for the 2026-2027 school year is already underway, with a strong focus on upper elementary scheduling and class size balance. Fifth and sixth grades are projected to have the highest numbers next year, while fourth grade will likely be the smallest class.
High School Principal Jacob Scandrett reported anti-bullying small groups are starting at the eighth-grade level. A recent parent survey garnered comments regarding bullying, something Scandrett said is taken seriously.
Snow Week is coming February 2-6, with a Winter Formal on Saturday, February 7.
Superintendent Joe Meyer said the 2026-2027 District Calendar will be presented to the board at the February meeting. He reported that the cooks/custodians voted down the tentative agreement the district and union had agreed to in November. There is a meeting February 4 to discuss the next steps. Paraprofessionals approved their agreement in December. Meyer is waiting to hear back from negotiators regarding the teachers’ proposed agreements.
In other business, the 2025 Parent Satisfaction Survey results were discussed. Parents with children at multiple buildings were able to answer the survey to provide feedback on individual schools. Questions were broken down into nine categories, including instruction, school safety, support services, food service, activities, communication, discipline, character & culture and overall satisfaction. Just over 200 responses were received.
Under Instruction, results were positive, with more than 75 percent of parents agreeing or strongly agreeing that their child is receiving high-quality instruction in core academic subjects. Seventy percent of parents said they believe their child’s academic needs are being met.
By choosing either agree or strongly agree, 75 percent of parents said their child feels safe at school, and 84 percent said the school maintains secure and well-supervised facilities.
When asked about bullying, only 46 percent agree that it is taken seriously and addressed appropriately.
Just over 50 percent believe the school’s discipline policies are fair and consistent, and 67 percent said they believe staff reinforce positive behavior.
Just under 50 percent of the parents agreed or strongly agreed the district finances are used effectively, with 35 percent neutral, 12 percent disagreeing and 4 percent strongly disagreeing.
In general, the responses were positive, but there were a few exceptions. Less than 50 percent of parents felt school meals are nutritious and appealing.
Overall, just over 80 percent of parents said they are satisfied with their child’s experience at MCC.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Meyer said. “I feel good about those results.”
Results are available on the school website.
The school board approved the annual resolution directing administration to make recommendations in reductions of programs and positions, and reasons for those recommendations.
According to Meyer, there were 5 FTE reductions last year, and the plan is to fill three of those positions back in. Music and community ed will not be filled, he said.
“With the referendum passing, are we bringing back everybody? I don’t believe that would be fiscally responsible,” Meyer said.
