Pat Flanders was reappointed as chairman, Deb Glenz as vice chair, Maurice Dosdall as treasurer, and Fern Roberg as clerk.
The board reappointed its committee assignments with two changes. First, a board representative was not deemed necessary anymore on the agriculture advisory committee. Second, board member Dan Andersen reported having difficulty attending the Minnesota State High School League meetings in St. Cloud during the day, so he swapped Roberg for her Meet & Confer assignment.
The committee assignments are:
M.S.H.S.L. - Fern Roberg and Matt Dickhausen;
S.E.E.S. - Deb Glenz;
Continuing Education - Roberg;
Education District - Pat Flanders; Maurice Dosdall, alternate;
Community Education - Gretchen O'Fallon;
Curriculum Advisory - Glenz;
Facility & Equipment - Dan Andersen, Flanders, and Dosdall;
Employee Recognition - Glenz, Bob See, and Roberg;
Transportation - Dosdall and See;
Teacher Negotiations - See, Roberg, and Dosdall;
Support Staff Negotiations - Glenz, Andersen, and Flanders;
Administration Negotiations - Dosdall, Flanders, and O'Fallon;
Legislative Liaison - See;
Chamber of Commerce - Dosdall;
Meet & Confer - Andersen and O'Fallon;
Staff Development - Glenz;
Finance - Dosdall;
Budget - Andersen, Flanders, and Glenz;
Technology - Flanders and Andersen;
Food Service - O'Fallon, Dosdall, and Glenz.
Resignation request
The board tabled a resignation request from Rita Brossard as the computer coordinator in the elementary school.
Brossard - the elementary media center coordinator - feels overloaded and doesn't want to continue to oversee all the computers at the elementary school, elementary principal Todd Burlingame told the board.
With the expansion of technology in recent years, Burlingame explained, the school has gone from a handful of computers to computers in every room. Brossard, he said, was staying late and coming in on weekends and holidays to do trouble shooting.
"She's been very conscientious," agreed Flanders. "The pay is nothing."
The problem is finding a replacement. Burlingame called her irreplaceable, saying, "I hate to lose her. She's too good at what she does."
The board suggested finding a computer savvy high school student and having them help ease Brossard's workload. They directed Burlingame and superintendent Howard Caldwell to approach Brossard again to see if a way to lessen her workload but keep her expertise in this important area.
Special school board meeting set to present budget cuts
The school board set a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, to hear the administration's budget reduction recommendations.
The meeting will be held in the media center at the elementary school and will be open to the public.
The public will not be asked for input at this meeting. The purpose is for the board to look at the proposed cuts and ask the administration questions about them.
The public may come to receive information about the recommendations, but public comments will have to wait until the public hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 1.
Other business
•The board approved expanding ECFE by 90 hours for 2000-01. A Women, Infants, and Children program will be added, to be funded through the Stearns County Family Services Collaborative. Becky Quade, an ECFE teacher, will add hours and serve as the project coordinator.
•The board approved hiring Kelli Woehler as a long-term substitute for Cal Davidson, who is expected to miss more than 31 days this year on sick leave.
•The board approved hiring Cal Anderson as a special education driver for the next five months.
•The board approved allowing the Red Cross to use the school district facilities if a major disaster would hit the area. The approval was needed so Red Cross could include the school in its disaster relief plans.
•The warm weather of late enabled the construction crews to finish the roof on the new fitness center. Community education/athletic director Matt Dickhausen told the board he is looking for the best deals on equipment for the fitness center and also working on a policy for auditorium rental.