School Board Minutes

Red Rock Central District No. 2884

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

 

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education, District No. 2884, was held in the elementary library in Jeffers on Tuesday, May 22, 2012.  Members present were:  Bierl, Clarke, Erickson, Johnson, Kelsey, Rogotzke, and Stavnes.  Superintendent Brennan, Principal Goetstouwers, Bryce Pack, Jake Jenniges, Joe Dietl, and Denise Clarke 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 Stavnes, seconded by Erickson and unanimously carried, to amend the minutes of the April 16, 2012 meeting.

 

Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Kelsey and unanimously carried, to approve the agenda, the amended minutes of the April 16, 2012 meeting, and the treasurer’s report.

 

Lead Teacher Riley’s report was distributed to the Board:  The integration trip to the Environmental Camp near Lake Carlos was once again a very educational and entertaining trip for our 5th graders.  They left on May 2nd and returned to Jeffers on May 4th.  We had a packed house for our elementary spring concert on May 7th.  This spring our concert was directed by Miss Van Maasdam.  The 5th grade band began to play at 6:30 that evening.  Many of them performed solos, duets, or in small groups.  Then the entire 5th grade band played several selections.  Around 7:00 the rest of our K-5th grade students took turns on the stage to sing songs they had been practicing.  The concert ended with all of the children singing a final group song.  When the concert was over, the children’s art work was on display for the parents to see.  We are very grateful to Miss Van Maasdam for stepping in and delivering such an entertaining program for our students and their parents.  Thanks goes to Mr. Hubert as well, for the many hours he put in helping our students create their art projects and displaying those projects around the gym area.  All testing for the Jeffers site will be completed on May 24th.  On May 21st, a representative from the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Company came to present state awards to a 2nd grader, Shane Rogers, and a 3rd grader, Nicole Schroepfer.  Shane is the son of Joseph and Eng Rogers from Storden, and Nicole is the daughter of Patrick and Marlene Schroepfer of Lamberton.  They were chosen as the best in handwriting for their grade level in the entire state of Minnesota.  We are very proud of Shane and Nicole.  When that presentation was finished, Karen Beranek from the Lamberton Library, came to speak with our students about her summer reading program.  Kindergarten round up was also on May 21st.  It started out with each family getting their child registered and turning in all necessary papers.  Then everyone met in the gym where I introduced our new Cottonwood County nurse, Kortney Krick, our new Lead Teacher, Mrs. Deb Altermatt, and our kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Paula Paplow.  From there, Mrs. Paplow took over and gave the families a tour of the school.  The children then were engaged in activities while Mrs. Paplow spoke to the parents.  Approximately nine families did attend.  So far, we are expecting twelve kindergarteners in the fall.  May 25 will be kindergarten graduation.  The program will begin at 1:00 in the gym with the theme being “Under the Sea.”  There will be 28 kindergarteners graduating.  After this graduation, the kindergarteners are done for the year.  Also on Friday, our 4th and 5th graders will be heading to Lamberton to tour the school and see where their classrooms will be and other areas of the building in which they will be involved.  Now that our 2011-2012 school year is winding down, I would like to thank the teachers, support staff, and the students for all of the effort they put

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forth to make this a successful year.  I would especially like to thank Mrs. Julie Erickson, Mrs. Val Graff, Mr. George Hansen, and Mr. Jeff Shaner for the many years they dedicated themselves to our students and our school district.  They were all team players and didn’t hesitate to put in the extra hours of work it sometimes took to help our students and school be the best they could be.  We wish them much happiness in their retirements.  This is my last report to the school board.  This school district has been very good to me.  It gave me the opportunity to begin my teaching career right out of college and I’ve been here for 38 years.  I want to thank you and the administration for all you do for our school and for the difficult decisions you need to make.  I was always proud to say I was a teacher from Lamberton, Sanborn/Lamberton, and finally, Red Rock Central.

 

Principal Goetstouwers presented the following report:  To update the Board on the CPR grant, Mr. Bartholomaus will be certified this summer and will implement it next year in the 10 grade and possibly work it into the 7th and 8th grade.  State FCCLA was a great success!!  Many gold medals were earned in different areas.  The Junior High Parli-Pro team qualified to attend nationals with 85% proficiency, but RRC policy states they need 90% to advance.  Although disappointed, these 8th grade girls seem very motivated and excited to reach that 90+%!  RRC has always had high standards and we will continue to uphold high standards.  State FFA went well for our teams, but extremely well for one individual!  Skyler Vold received the state Star award in Agri-science!  Red Rock Central received a plaque in recognition of him!  The Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association proudly recognizes Wabasso/Red Rock Central as a GOLD academic team for achieving an average GPA of 3.71 for the 2011-2012 season.  Commencement is Sunday, May 27th at 2 p.m.  There are 31 potential graduates.  The last day for seniors is tomorrow.  Baccalaureate was on May 20th.  The clergy did a great job!  Two seniors had nice speeches!  Peggy Martius and the music department sounded great as usual!  The Senior Honor Banquet was last night.  Many awards were received by very gifted children for many different reasons!  Our students received the most dollars from organizational scholarship from my records, had the highest average amount of dollars per student, but the lowest total amount of collegiate scholarships (perhaps because of state funding).  It’s obvious our RRC staff goes well beyond the call of duty to create opportunities for success to our students!  The spring concert and Fine Arts evenings have been excellent!  It’s amazing to hear and see the talented young children.  Band numbers are up – 31 participants this year, with 40 currently signed up for next year.  Choir numbers are also up – 70 this year, with 79 currently signed up for next year.  The National Honor Society inducted 6 more students:  Jaycee Nelson, Shanaya Prins, and Lance Mattison (11th graders) and Katelyn Hagan, Cassandra Erickson, and Melanie Kedl (10th graders).  Preliminary MCA results are coming in and we’re seeing GREAT results at the middle school.  We will receive high school math scores in the near future and reading will come at the end of June.  The 6th grade NWEA results are in!  These tests are taken in the fall and spring.  Our students are showing improvements in all three categories – Math (largest growth), Reading, and Language Arts.  We continue to be comfortably above state norms!  All emergency drills are taken care of!  The 4th and 5th graders will visit the Lamberton campus this Friday.  They will meet the teachers, receive tours from our student council, stop at 8 different locations and meeting the staff.  An Open House will be offered for the parents and students in the summer (more information to come).  Our last day of school is May 30th.  There will be an awards assembly for our students in grades 7-11.  Overall, it’s been a wonderful first year as principal!  I have been very fortunate to have our students, staff, Dr. Brennan and the community.  I’m looking forward to building off of this year and continuing to keep RRC great and find ways to somehow make it better!

 

 

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Bryce Pack and Jake Jenniges, representing the Lamberton Longstockings, addressed the Board regarding their request to sell alcohol, as a fundraiser, at the Longstockings baseball games which are played on the High School baseball field.  Much discussion followed and the Board approved Superintendent Brennan and the Longstockings to look into the matter further.

 

Upon motion of Stavnes, seconded by Bierl and unanimously carried, to pay claims in the amount of $80,388.93.  Receipts were $415,542.48.

 

Upon motion of Kelsey, seconded by Clarke and unanimously carried, to hire Tasha Frasher to teacher summer band lessons.

 

Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Johnson and unanimously carried, to hire the auditing firm of Kinner & Company LTD to perform the school district audit for the 2011-2012 school year at a cost not to exceed $13,200.

 

Upon motion of Johnson and seconded by Kelsey to approve a $3.00 increase in wages for Denise Clarke beginning July 1, 2012 due to added responsibilities with the District’s payroll in addition to her role as executive secretary.  Voting yes:  Bierl, Johnson, Kelsey, Rogotzke.  Voting no:  Erickson and Stavnes.  Clarke abstained from voting.  Motion carried.

 

Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Stavnes and unanimously carried, to approve the potential 31 members of the Senior Class for graduation.

 

Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Erickson and unanimously carried, approve the Local Literacy Plan for Grades K-3 as written and to place the plan on our website as mandated by state law.

 

Upon motion of Erickson, seconded by Clarke and unanimously carried, to accept the quote from Continental Western Group through the Wanda State Agency’s office for the school insurance for the 2012-2013 school year totaling $44,783, with the exception of the Worker’s Comp. with Terrorism through Ram Mutual at $25,464.

 

Superintendent Brennan showed the Board notes that were written by members of the FCCLA thanking the Board for their contribution to the FCCLA State Convention. 

 

The Board would like to thank all of the retiring teachers for their years of service to our School District.

 

Discussion was held regarding open enrollment, playground equipment at Lamberton, Smartboards, purchase of used furniture for classrooms, FFA program, and looping.

 

Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Johnson and unanimously carried, to adjourn at 9:15 p.m.

 

 

_________________________________                        ________________________________

Alan J. Clarke, Clerk                                                                         Denise Clarke, Recorder