School Board Minutes
Red Rock Central District No. 2884
Monday, December 20, 1999
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education, District No. 2884, was called
to order by Chairman Johnson at 8:02 p.m. in the Board Room in Lamberton after the
Senior High Concert on Monday, December 20, 1999. Members present were: Clarke,
Gransee, Imker, Johnson, Mattison, Porter, and Therkilsen. Superintendent John Brennan,
Principal Benz, Joe Dietl, Meridith Flaig, Beverly Larson and Lucille Hagert were
also in attendance.
Upon motion of Gransee, seconded by Mattison and unanimously carried, to approve the
agenda, the minutes of the November 15, 1999 meeting and the treasurer's report.
Principal Benz reported the following: The December 2 Bloodmobile, sponsored by the
FLA, exceeded its goal by collecting 69 units of blood. He complimented the organizers
and donors on a job well done. Sixteen students are participating in extra-curricular Speech under the guidance of Jenifer Kirsch. Sign-up for the One Act Play is
taking place. The 10th grade visited the CRTC December 16. The Decathlon team
will compete at Regions on February 1. There will be a Mock Trial scrimmage January
21 at Jackson. Second quarter mid terms were mailed the week of December 13. The Student
Council purchased and decorated the Christmas tree in the cafeteria and sponsored
the movies shown the afternoon before Winter Break. Preparations are being made
for Snow Week which is set for the week of January 31st. An unscheduled fire drill on December
7 was the result of construction workers welding and creating too much heat next
to the sensors. Sgt. Johnson presented a drug and alcohol program to the Health
and Physical Education Departments. Pre-registration for next year will take place the
week of January 10. Mandey Gillis and Casey Pack have been nominated for the Academics,
Arts and Athletics Award, sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League. Lucille Goloni, foreign exchange student from Brazil, is attending classes at RRC until
the end of January. The Sr. High Concert on December 20 was excellent. There will
be a Grad Standards Implementation discussion meeting on January 11, headed by Donna
Oakey of Mankato. Second semester will start January 24.
Principal Johnson's written report is as follows: He recently attended a Title I
meeting in Marshall on the new student selecting assessment procedures for grades
K-2. A lyceum program, "The Christmas Carol", was enjoyed by the students. Approximately
400 were in attendance at the Elementary Concert on December 6. Classroom remodeling
is underway. Community Education will be sponsoring gun safety and snowmobile safety
classes and trips to the Mall of America and Chanhassen.
There will be a non-certified negotiations' meeting on December 22 and mediation is
scheduled for the first week in February.
Dues of $1,000 has been paid to the Redwood County Mental Health Collaborative. The
organizational meeting is scheduled for January 4. Dr. Brennan was directed to be
the RRC representative at the meetings and was given authority to vote when board
members can't be present.
Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Porter and unanimously carried, to pay claims in
the amount of $56,952.97. Receipts were $171,307.90.
Upon motion of Porter, seconded by Gransee and unanimously carried, to accept the
resignation of Billie Brockshus effective December 22 and thank her for her fine
job performance.
Page 2 - December 20, 1999
Upon motion of Gransee, seconded by Therkilsen and unanimously carried, to set the
school levy as approved by the State in the maximum amounts in each category as follows:
General - Voter Approved $ 102,550.80
General Education 1,302,559.45
General - Health & Safety 654,259.86
Community Service 45,735.87
Total
$2,105,105.98
Upon motion of Therkilsen, seconded by Clarke and unanimously carried, to approve
the 1999-2000 school year non-union work agreements for Marion Weber and Denise
Popp at $11.70 and $9.30 per hour respectively. Benefits remain the same as last
year with one exception; the Friday after Thanksgiving replaces President's Day as a paid
holiday.
The Board had directed Superintendent Brennan to find the financial savings if the
District only publishes the motions of Board meetings rather than a full dialogue
of the meeting. It was found that there was a substantial saving to the District,
which could be translated into a $2,000 to $3,000 reduction in the school budget when considering
all three papers. After considerable discussion, Porter suggested the complete set
of minutes be posted on the Internet if the Board chooses the option of publishing an abbreviated version in the newspapers.
Upon motion of Gransee, seconded by Mattison and unanimously carried, to publish only
a condensed version of the Board minutes in the three area newspapers, with a complete
copy of the minutes filed in the official minute book in the District Office.
Discussion was held on the possibility of discontinuing the practice of using district
funds to support Board Memorials and to consider either pooling personal funds
for each occurrence or pooling funds to purchase sympathy cards. The matter was
tabled until the reorganizational meeting in January.
Motion by Porter and seconded by Mattison to approve the lease agreement, as written,
with Meadowland and the school district. Voting Yes: Mattison, Porter, Therkilsen,
Gransee and Johnson. Clarke and Imker abstained due to conflicts of interest. Motion carried 5-0 with 2 abstentions.
The District has been evaluating the options of removing the electrical transformers
in the boiler room in the High School since 1983. Alliant Energy has agreed to remove
the transformers and set the pole and tubs as needed outside the building. RRC will be responsible for the connection between the pole and the school (Health and Safety
dollars).
Upon motion of Gransee, seconded by Therkilsen and unanimously carried, to proceed
with the removal of the electrical transformers within our building and directed
Superintendent Brennan to use his discretion in obtaining the best price possible
for the re-connection between the pole and the school.
A contract between RRC and Coca Cola has been signed. Coca Cola was given the exclusive
right to sell their products at both campuses and will reimburse the District for
a $6,000 scoreboard purchased for the athletic field.
In addressing the budget reduction process, Dr. Brennan will present his recommendations
at the January meeting.
Several Board members and Dr. Brennan will be attending the MSBA Leadership Conference
in Minneapolis on January 12-13, 2000.
Page 3 - December 20, 1999
Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Porter and unanimously carried, to set the next
regular Board meeting for Monday, January 24, at 7:00 p.m. at Jeffers.
Upon motion of Therkilsen, seconded by Imker and unanimously carried, to adjourn the
meeting at 9:25 p.m.
Paul Porter, Clerk Lucille Hagert, Recorder