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*The board approved the following budget reductions for the 2005-06 school year, totaling $210,743: 3.514 FTE teaching positions and one secretary position. The board approved the following budget additions for the 2005-06 school year, totaling $19,850: add a sixth-class assignment ($4,050) and increase a speech clinician position from 0.6 FTE to 1.0 FTE ($15,800).

This yields a total budget impact of $190,893 for 2005-06. (Related story.)

*The board also approved adding a teacher at the elementary school if the state provides at least a 2.5 percent funding increase to schools for 2005-06. Right now, the district expects to have four sections of kindergarten and three sections of first grade in 2005-06. If state funding for K-12 education is increased, the district would use the increased funds for another section in the primary grades. This could be done with four sections of kindergarten and four sections of first grade or with the addition of a multiage classroom, as recently presented the board by the elementary staff. If this is pursued, the district could offer three sections of kindergarten, three sections of first grade, and two multiage classrooms with both kindergartners and first graders.

*The board tabled a decision on the location of the middle school/high school office. Administration has recommended that the middle school office be closed and Community Education should move to that space. Board members and staff have countered with a desire to have a middle school office as a central location for middle school staff and students.

The board directed administration to devise a plan to staff the middle school office at no additional cost (by reducing summer hours and other noncontact hours, etc.).

*The board set a special meeting for Tuesday, May 3, at 4 p.m. to interview four finalists for the high school principal position. The district received nearly 100 applications for the position, and committees interviewed seven candidates on Wednesday, April 27, reducing the field to four finalists.

*The board approved raising all-day, everyday kindergarten fees from $400, $200 (for families that qualify for reduced-priced lunches), and $100 (for families that qualify for free lunches) to $500, $300, and $150 for the 2005-06 school year.

*The board approved renewing its lease with Head Start Inc. for the use of a district building on Mill Street for the 2005-05 school year at an annual rate of $3,000.

*The board approved tenure for the following teachers at the end of the 2004-05 school year: Michael Guenther, Michelle Hesse-Cremers, and Ted Nett.

*The board approved issuing diplomas to members of the Class of 2005 who have successfully completed the requirements for graduation. *The board approved new job descriptions for district staff, with the exception of the secretarial staff, as the location and staffing of the middle school/high school office is still being considered.

*The board authorized the following career increments for teachers: Ann Lundgren (35 years); Rita Brossard (30 years); Karen Odberg (30 years); Diane Dutcher (20 years); Kimberly Gulbranson (20 years); and Ken Vork (20 years).

*The board approved continuing with the current Teacher Performance Improvement Program, with slight changes, for 2005-06.

*The board approved discontinuing an employment assignment for Wanda Hasse as the special needs student with which she worked on a one-to-one basis has left the district.