School
Board Minutes
Red
Rock Central District No. 2884
Monday,
April 18, 2011
The regular
monthly meeting of the Board of Education, District No. 2884, was held in the
Board Room in Lamberton on Monday, April 18, 2011. Members present were Bierl, Clarke, Erickson,
Johnson, Kelsey, Rogotzke, and Stavnes.
Superintendent Brennan, Principal Olson, Lead Teacher Riley, Jan
Benedict, Bryce Pack, Leon Stalls, Kip and Vicki Rasmussen, Mark Meier, Kendall
Piotter, Troy Determan, Denise Clarke, and Joe Dietl were also in attendance.
Chairman Rogotzke
called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
The Pledge of
Allegiance was recited.
Upon motion of
Clarke, seconded by Johnson and unanimously carried, to approve the agenda as
amended, the minutes of the March 21, 2011 meeting and the treasurer’s report.
Leon Stalls,
former teacher and coach, came before the Board to voice his opinion about
moving girls’ sports such as volleyball and basketball to the Lamberton
building. He believes the sports teams
are happy playing in Jeffers and why would we want to move the sports to
Lamberton when things are going so well.
Mark Meier also addressed the Board saying that he agrees with Mr.
Stalls. The Board thanked Mr. Stalls and
Mr. Meier for sharing their thoughts.
Bryce Pack, athletic
director, presented his thoughts on moving volleyball and girls’ basketball to
the Lamberton building. Moving
volleyball to Lamberton would involve a cost of approximately $6,000 which includes putting in a dual net system, marking the
courts on the gym floor, and fixing the gym curtain. Our Junior High would have to practice daily
in Jeffers. Moving girls’ basketball to
Lamberton would involve early/late starts for practice so both the girls and
boys get in their practice time. The
square baskets would need to be moved from the Jeffers gym to the Lamberton
gym. Mr. Pack feels that these sports
could be moved to Lamberton if the Board chooses to do so. Softball was also discussed. The Board thanked Mr. Pack for his insight
into this issue.
Board Member
Kelsey reported that he attended a Redwood County Collaberative meeting this
month.
Lead Teacher
Riley reported the following: On April
7-8 our 4th and 5th graders went for their overnight stay
at the Science Museum. They left Jeffers
at 12:30 on Thursday, visited the capitol building, and then headed to the
museum. They were given a room at the
museum in which they slept in their sleeping bags. They returned to Jeffers around 2:30 on
Friday. I was picking up my students
from P.E. when they were returning and they were very excited about telling me
what a great time they had. They also
had to mention that they were told by the Science Museum people that they were
the best behaved group of students who attended this event. Our 5th graders took the MCAII’s
Science test in the computer room on April 12th. The 3rd-5th graders
will be taking the MCA Reading test on April 19-20. These are pencil and paper tests. Beginning April 26th, K-5th
graders will begin the NWEA testing in reading and math. This will last through May 5th. Then beginning May 16th, the 3rd-5th
graders will be doing the MCAII’s math tests.
On April 14th we participated in the statewide tornado drill
at the Jeffers site. On April 15th
our 1st and 2nd graders went to New Ulm for an
integration field trip. We went to a
play
April
18, 2011 – Page 2
entitled,
“Mr. Toad’s Mad Adventures” at the Martin Luther College. We had planned on meeting at a park after the
play to have lunch and play games with the other 1st and 2nd
graders in our collaborative. However,
because of the unseasonable weather, we ate our lunch in a room at the college
and then headed home. Today Guy Dammann
and Linda Meier spoke to our entire student body about bus safety. There have been some incidents that need to
be addressed. This is something we are
planning on stressing to our students every fall and spring to keep reminding
them about the rules of safety whether they’re just getting on the bus, riding
the bus, or leaving the bus. I also spoke
to them about behaviors that will not be tolerated while riding the bus. I reminded them to respect their bus drivers
and each other. We really appreciate our
bus drivers. They have a difficult job
and this winter had to have been extremely challenging as well. We will be having our spring concert on May 2nd
at 7:00. Jennifer Eberhard, who is
subbing for Jolene Dammann while she is recovering from back surgery, has been
working hard getting our students ready.
We appreciate how Mrs. Eberhard has stepped up and made it possible for
our student to still have their spring concert.
On May 4-6 our 5th graders will be heading to Lake Carlos for
their integration trip. This has always
proven to be a fantastic experience for our students. Our Kindergarten round up this year will be
May 9th at 6:30. On May 10th our 3rd graders
will be having a field trip to the Cottonwood Historical Museum and also the
Courthouse and Law Enforcement Center in Windom. We’re waiting for the weather to warm up so
we can do our last 2 fire drills at the Jeffers site. We also have 1 more lockdown and the whole
school evacuation to complete.
Principal Olson
reported the following: The Senior Class
Trip went very well. We had our drill
along with the statewide Tornado Drill.
We had practiced this last fall already.
Next years’ schedule is pretty much in place. We had way too many signed up for Spanish so
I have met with the students and made
recommendations and we are down to 23 students in Spanish I. Schedules will come out to students yet this
week for final adjustments. The FFA will
be competing in their state contests on May 2 -3. Testing is ongoing yet this week for the 6th,
7th, and 8th grade.
We have some very apprehensive students and teachers as we missed a great
deal of time from the classroom before these tests. Prom went very well, and we should take time
to thank the After Prom committee for their efforts to provide a healthy and
fun environment. Student Council Food
Drive - this year we took all the food and cash to the Food Shelf in
Westbrook. My understanding is that many
people from our district frequent this shop.
We look forward to a busy May with the Honor Banquet, Baccalaureate, and
Commencement. We also have some spring
concerts in May. As usual a couple of
seniors are still a concern for graduation.
It depends on grades that are forthcoming this semester. I have been meeting with Principals from the
area. We have met 2 times in
Windom. Such things as curriculum
sharing and what we are all doing that could help each other have been
discussed. At the last meeting we also
discussed in length the Minnesota Common Course Catalog that has to be filed
with the MDE. Ours is complete 9-12.
Upon motion of
Stavnes, seconded by Clarke and unanimously carried, to pay claims in the
amount of $77,024.52. Receipts were
$538,967.63.
Discussion was
held regarding: Moving all Board
meetings to the Lamberton site, John Rogotzke succeeded in raising money for
the lights in the Jeffers gym, and Monsanto’s Grow Rural Education program.
Upon motion of
Clarke, seconded by Bierl and unanimously carried, to go into Closed Session at
8:40 p.m. to review personnel and student related issues.
April
18, 2011 – Page 3
Upon motion of
Clarke, seconded by Erickson and unanimously carried, to come out of Closed
Session at 9:17 p.m.
Upon motion of
Clarke, seconded by Erickson and unanimously carried, to adjourn at 9:30 p.m.
________________________________ _______________________________
Alan J. Clarke,
Clerk Denise Clarke, Recorder