School Board Minutes

Red Rock Central District No. 2884

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education, District No. 2884, was held in the elementary library in Jeffers on Tuesday, November 13, 2012. Members present were: Bierl, Clarke, Erickson, Kelsey, Rogotzke, and Stavnes. Johnson was tardy. Superintendent Brennan, Principal Goetstouwers, Kip Rasmussen, Nathan Kinner, Sharlla Maras, Odetta Manthei, and Denise Clarke were also in attendance.

Chairman Rogotzke called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Erickson and unanimously carried, to approve the agenda as amended, the minutes of the October 15, 2012 meeting, and the treasurer’s report.

Nathan Kinner of Kinner & Company Ltd. Presented the audit report and answered questions concerning the report for the 2011-2012 school year showing that we are in a stable financial position.

Upon motion of Erickson, seconded by Bierl and unanimously carried, to accept the audit as presented.

Lead Teacher Altermatt’s report was handed out to the Board for their review: Grandparent’s Day was held on October 26^th and we had a great turnout. Our Student Council was in charge of the Masquerade Parade in the gym on Halloween. All classes paraded across the stage in costume. Following the parade were other activities and games that were played on the gym floor. Everyone had a great time. Thank you to the Student Council and the Leaders. Veteran’s Day Program was November 12^th. The Lamberton Legion was in charge of the program. The students and staff were encouraged to wear red, white and blue colors for the day. The program started at 2:15 in the Jeffers gym. Miss Gartner, lead our students in the songs. Colonel Wayne Tassler, stationed in MacDill Air Force Base Tampa, Florida, was home for a visit and some hunting and was asked to talk to the students during the Veteran’s Day program. We thank him for his service to our country and his time with our students and staff. We also thank the Lamberton Legion for preparing this program for us. Starting the second quarter, our students will be able to earn charms for positive behaviors and educational achievements within the classroom and the school environments. Some of the charms that can be earned are anti bullying, attendance, 100^th day of school, school spirit, penmanship, Read Across/US, MLK Day, math facts, fire prevention posters, one mile run, music, and art. The children can collect these charms and add them to their chains that they were given. Then these chains can be attached to their school bags. The Parent-Teacher Conferences were held November the 8^th, from 4:00 to 9:30. The percentage of attendance during conferences was 93% to 100%. Only one class was 69% attended. The NWEA results were back for the fall testing. The teachers were able to hand the results out to the parents at the conferences. We will use these scores to compare growth at the spring testing.

The annual Book Fair was held the week of November 5th -8th. The last night for the Book Fair was our Parent Teacher Conference night, November 8th. Mrs. Pederson reported that sales were approximately $3,000 and of that will have $1500 to buy new books for our library. It was down from the last two years, which was over $5,000 of sales each year. Mrs. Pederson has put in many hours preparing for this book fair and helping the children fill out their wish lists for

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parents. Thank you to all that helped and purchased books. Along with the Book Fair, the elementary stared a Superstar reading contest. Each child, preschool through the fourth grade, keep a running total of their reading time at home and at school. It was recorded as a total for each class separately. Mrs. Furth’s class won with 4,745 minutes read in a 10 day period. They received a book mark, treats and Star shaped Rice Krispi treats. The Superstar Reader minutes total for all the classes was 18,249 minutes (304 hours and 9 minutes). Mrs. Hemiller was in charge of this challenge for our students. She tallied the minutes each day and posted the times on the wall outside her door. Thank you Mrs. Hemiller and great job students, keep on reading! The Student Council has turned in the box tops and earned $313.10. They will continue to collect the box tops, cut and count them. The reward has been profitable for our school. The money the student council makes helps purchase items for our classrooms. During this same time frame, our elementary collected loose change for the Toys for Tots program. The amount of $201.04 was collected for this cause. Miss Ryker, Mrs. Benedict, Miss. Moll, Mrs. Paplow, and Mrs. Flaig, wrote the application for our school to be a Celebration Award School. In September I wrote that we were a Celebration School, in fact we were able to apply to be a Celebration School. We now wait to hear the results. It still is rewarding to be selected to apply at this level.

American Education Week is November 12th to the 16th. On Monday the staff was treated to bars in the lounge and on Friday we are going to wear school colors. Several of our teachers attended a workshop this past summer at the Experiment Station in Lamberton. During this workshop there was an opportunity to receive a free sun dial for our playground. The sun dial is a total of 400lbs. of concrete. There are 10 square pieces and 12 circles. It is presently being stored at the Experiment Station until we can put it together. It is ours, but we need to find someone to help us position it in the ground. It will be a wonderful opportunity for all our students to determine what time of day it is by standing on the month and raising their arm by their ear and it will point to the time of day for them. Along with this workshop the second, third and fourth grade teachers applied for the Ag Literacy Grant. Our second, third, and fourth grade classes did receive the Ag Literacy Grant. The amount was $400 for the third and fourth grades and $250 for the second grade. The students will grow bulbs in the fall and vegetables in the spring. The second graders will purchase Root Viewers and plant seeds and bulbs. The third and fourth graders will purchase 10 Garden Grow Boxes, Miracle Grow potting soil and local sources will provide seeds and bulbs. These activities will meet the MN Life Science Standard 3.4.1.1.1- compare how the different structures of plants serve various functions of growth, survival, and reproduction will be addressed and met. MN Health Standard 4.8.1- the students will demonstrate the ability to influence and support others in making positive health choices will be addressed and met.

Principal Goetstouwers reported the following: Attendance at Student-Parent-Teacher conferences on November 8^th were slightly down overall at roughly 65-70%. On-line JMC grading system contributes to lower attendance at the conference. The busiest stretch of time was from 6-8 p.m. The Whopper Feed was a success. The Veteran’s Day program was held on November 12^th. Mrs. Dunn and Duane Erickson set it up. Former RRC student, Ryan Benedict, was the guest speaker. Members of the Legion and Auxiliary were very impressed with our students and how respectful they were. The musical, “Once Upon a Mattress”, was presented. Our students gave excellent performances which were well attended. Mrs. Frasher, Mrs. Wilmes, Mr. VanMaasdam, and Mr. Kelsey worked diligently over many hours in a short period of time. This wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for all of the people who assisted and there were quite a few! The volleyball team won the first 2 rounds of the playoffs and lost against the 3^rd seed Southwest United. The football team lost the 1^st round of the playoffs against Wabasso.

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The girls’ basketball team has started practices with week and the boy’s basketball team and wrestling team will start practicing next week. New Horizons Crisis Center is presenting on “Relationships” to our 9^th graders this week. The Senior Class Trip will be March 21-25 to San Diego. Twenty-six of thirty-seven students handed in commitment to travel forms and paid a down payment. The bid was at $1199 (same as last year) for 20 students traveling, so cost will likely drop. We had a great 1^st quarter! Falcon Pride Award Winners will be announced next week Wednesday.

Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Stavnes and unanimously carried, to pay claims in the amount of $73,423.85. Receipts were $593,059.74.

Upon motion of Erickson and seconded by Johnson, to adopt the following resolution:

RESOLUTION CANVASSING RETURNS

OF VOTES OF SCHOOL DISTRICT GENERAL ELECTION

BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of Independent School District No. 2884 as follows:

It is hereby found, determined, and declared that the general election of the voters of the district held on November 6, 2012, was in all respects duly and legally called and held.

The ballot count is as follows: Precinct 1 – four year term – Chad Stavnes - 516 votes, 5 write-in ballots; Precinct 2 - four year term – Norman Johnson- 253 votes, Kip Rasmussen - 312 votes, 2 write-in votes; Precinct 3 – four year term – Amy Bierl - 524 votes, 13 write-in ballots; and At Large – four year term – Ron Kelsey - 941 votes, John R. Hansen - 734 votes, 10 write-in votes.

Newly elected Board Members Chad Stavnes, Kip Rasmussen, Amy Bierl, and Ron Kelsey will take office as soon as possible after January 1, 2013.

The school district clerk is hereby authorized to certify the results of the election to the county auditor of each county in which the school district is located in whole or in part.

Upon roll call vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: Bierl, Erickson, Johnson, Kelsey, Stavnes, Clarke, Rogotzke;

And the following voted against the same: None;

Whereupon said resolution, having received the affirmative votes of two-thirds of the members, was declared duly passed and adopted.

Discussion was held on an EPA grant for $25,000/bus when purchasing new. We have 4 students out for gymnastics with a parent driving them. The Sleepy Eye school district was considering the pilot program AMAZE. The MREA Board of Directors ballot and School Board Convention were discussed, along with elementary technology – Kindles that can be checked out at our elementary library. The search for a new Superintendent was discussed as Dr. Brennan will be retiring in June of 2014 or thereabouts.

Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Stavnes and unanimously carried, to adjourn at 7:40 p.m.

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Alan J. Clarke, Clerk Denise Clarke, Recorder