Posted: 12/28/04
School board approves contracts
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The Caledonia School board approved two-year contracts for three managers at its December 20 meeting.
District manager Amy Schmidt received a two year contract that has a two percent increase to $45,900 first year and $47,000 the second year, with the right to the same insurance benefits as other support staff.
District maintenance director Bill Woolley received a two year contract at a .75 position with a two percent increase in the first year to $33,113 and $33,775 in the second year, with the right to benefits equal to the support staff contract.
Community education director Nancy Runningen received a one year contract with a two percent increase to $49,779., with the right to the same benefits as teachersí master agreement.
The board approved two other hirings:
ï Kelly Schaller, full-time elementary special educational assistant, $9.20 per hour.
ï Debra Meyer, part-time elementary special educational assistant at $9.03 per hour.
Technical ed. presentation
Also at the meeting in the elementary school cafeteria, middle school principal Brian Doty gave a Power Point presentation on the school-to-work program. He stressed that Career and Technical Education (CTE), or what used to be known as vocational class, is important because 65 percent of all jobs are skilled technical occupations.
ìThe biggest share of our kids take classes like this,î Doty said.
District 299 has CTE programs in agriculture; business and marketing; family and consumer science; and trade and industrial/technical education. It does not have programs in health occupations and service occupations.
Doty also told about the schools work-based learning program, which is done through two CTE programs and a special education transition program.
Doty coordinates workplace readiness and has 10 students in the third quarter this school year. Jon Lilliquist supervises office occupations, and has 14 students signed up. These number fluctuate, Doty said.
Barbara Woolley administers the work experience handicapped program.
Crisis plan OKed
The board also approved a crisis management plan that high school principal Ron Helmers presented at the last two meetings. It contains things like resources, lockdown procedure, and an alphabetical list of crises.
Helmers called it a ìfluid documentî that will undergo some changes.
What happens at after-school events like a basketball event? board member Mary Frank asked. Helmers said that if there was no smoke in the building, people would go to the commons area, where they can exit easily.
ìThose are little things we have to work through,î he said.
ï A student management plan was approved at the meeting.It is a computer program that will handle most of the data jobs for students, such as scheduling, grading, attendance, and the lunch program. The cost is $5,680, which Moriarty said was a bargain because Caledonia is being used as a reference for other area schools.
ï Strongís Karate is not going to offer classes through community education any more, community education director Nancy Runnigen reported. The change is due to the fact that their schedule had to be changed occasionally because of school activities that take priority, Runningen said. Strongís is going to offer classes at the Caledonia Auditorium now.
ï Title I services may switch from an after-school program to an in-school one starting the second semester. Moriarty had asked that the change be made starting next year but staff members asked if it could be moved to this year. Several board members said they supported the change. It will be acted on at next monthís meeting. Moriarty feels that participation will improve if it is done during the school day. Nineteen of 38 parents eligible for Title I services are participating now, he said.
ï Lawn mowing services will probably not be contracted out next year. The board heard a recommendation from Moriarty that it be done in-house, using existing staff with perhaps some student help. Last year the district spent $12,700 for the service. He figured that the district would need to buy a 13-foot pull-behind mower and a small riding lawnmower, for a total cost of about $15,000. ìI think weíd make better use of our equipment and personnel,î Moriarty said.
ï No action on staffing for next year was taken, because people want to wait a month, and have the busy Christmas season behind them, Moriarty said. He has recommended that four full-time-equivalent positions be cut.
ï Fifth grade band may be started up again next year. It was eliminated this year at the request of the band directors, who have since left. The new band directors want to see in reinstated, an idea that Moriarty agreed with. No decision was made on this.
ï An agreement to allow Mabel-Canton students to participate in track this spring was approved.
ï The levy was certified at $1,772,821.11.
Registration process frustrates board member Chuck Schulte
During the directorsí report part of last weekís school board meeting, Chuck Schulte raised concerns over registration and Diversity Day.
He said the board was led to believe that registration procedures were in place last year, but it got dumped on administrative assistant Glenda Miller.
ìI know that we lost students out of this district because of the way they were registered,î Schulte said.
He would like to see a report on when and how students will be registered next year. ìIím just really, really frustrated on this point.î
As for Diversity Day, Schulte said he took ìsevere feedbackî on it last year. Twenty five percent of the students were gone, he said.
Schulte questioned whether a full day of Diversity Day was needed. Dave Klinski noted that three weeks of letters-to-the-editor also followed the event.
Schulte ended his discussion with praise for outgoing school board members Dave Klinski and Suzanne Roesler. People donít have any idea of the work involved on the board, especially around the new school. ìEverything you did will last for years and years.î
ìThey canít really chisel our names off the building,î Roesler said.
ìOh yeah?î Naomi Fruechte replied to smiles all around.
It was a diverse group, Roesler added. ìBut that makes a good board too.î
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