Leonard Sobanja reported to his fellow school board members Monday, October 19, 2009 on efforts to upgrade equipment and create space in the Industrial Arts Department.
Shop teacher Eli Hill is getting quotes on various projects including electrical and gas hookups that are needed to allow re-growth of the program that was considerably downsized a decade ago. Sobanja and Hill are looking into grants that might be available for middle and high school industrial arts programs.
Sobanja hopes contractors and vendors will offer labor and supplies at discounts like the one offered by Ian Johnson for pouring a concrete floor in the school’s pole barn. Another cost-saving measure would be to involve students in the work, Sobanja said.
Sobanja mentioned a document Superintendent Beth Schwarz had given him related to the level of funding the Industrial Arts Department gets in comparison to the other departments and wondered why it doesn’t get a bigger share. After the meeting, Superintendent Beth Schwarz said that the district spends more money on the English Department than on any other department. The Foreign Language Department is funded least, although more kids are taking foreign language classes than industrial arts right now. Industrial Arts is the most expensive program, she said.
In a later phone conversation, Sobanja said that a 1999 survey of recent CCHS graduates showed that the classes considered most useful after high school were English and industrial arts, respectively.
Kitchen restructuring
After two futile searches for a part-time food service manager — part of a plan to restructure the kitchen staff and do without a head cook — the district will return to a structure similar to the one it had before.
Linda Bockovich has agreed to take on the head cook position. In an effort to trim costs, Superintendent Schwarz hired Dianne Koeneke, the former kitchen helper, to take on the cook position seven hours a day instead of eight as Bockovich had done in that position. A kitchen helper is being sought to work 2 ½ hours a day.
Schwarz was concerned about getting the kitchen fully staffed. “You don’t want me in the kitchen,” she said. “Hot line to Sven & Ole’s!”
Schwarz indicated she is trying to bring food service costs down while offering nutritious meals students will enjoy. Staff changes will bring a savings of $2,972 over last year. The department ended the last school year with a $16,000 deficit, some of it from allowing students in the free or reduced meal program to eat from the ala carte menu at no extra charge. To give Bockovich a clean slate and avoid keeping a department in the red, the deficit will be covered by other funds.
A review is being conducted of the nutritional content of the school’s meals, Schwarz said. It will reveal any nutrients that may be lacking or any excesses of things like saturated fats.
Personnel changes
Dean Farnum has filled the custodial position vacated by Dianne Koeneke when she was hired to work in the Food Service Department.
Jeanne Anderson is the new elementary secretary. Principal Gwen Carman said Anderson works well with teachers, parents, and administrators. “Jeanne is wonderful,” she said. “She is highly qualified.” Superintendent Schwarz said Jeanne is probably the employee who gets interrupted the most. School board member Eric
Kemp said he heard her say, “It’s just so fun to be in this office doing this.”
Winter coaches are as follows: head boys’ basketball coach, Mitch Dorr; assistant, Pat Eliasen; head girls’ basketball coach, TJ Super; assistant, John Jacobsen; 8th grade coach, Kim Linnell; head alpine ski coach, Jim Vick. Volunteer coaches are Mike Larson with alpine skiing and Mark and Kelly Summers with Nordic skiing. Seventh grade girls’ and boys’ basketball coaches are still needed.
Relocation drill
Approximately 500 students and 100 staff made a smooth exodus to Bethlehem Lutheran Church in a recent school evacuation drill. “I think we have a good plan in place,” said Schwarz. Cook County law enforcement helped with traffic control during the drill. Schwarz said the school has a system in place for tracking the release of the children as their parents pick them up from the church in the event of a real evacuation.
Administrative and board activities
Eric Kemp reported “great discussions” at two public meetings he recently held with the parents in his district. He said he was happy to report that at this time, the parents in his district reported no major issues.
Superintendent Schwarz said she is attending meetings that will help her transition into the position of director of Community Education. Current director Gwen Carman is helping get her up to speed, she said. She also reported that a date has been set for her and the administrators of the county’s charter schools to meet.
Gwen Carman commended her staff for their hard work creating a positive, effective learning environment. She expressed appreciation for several programs that have been brought to the school at no cost to the district: Germ City sponsored by Cook County Public Health; fire safety education sponsored by the Colvill and Grand Marais fire departments; “Read for the Record” day sponsored by the Minnesota Reading Corps; Todd Green demonstrations sponsored by the North Shore Music Association; Fidgety Fairy Tales
sponsored by the Human Development Center; the book fair sponsored by the PTA; and ongoing volunteering by people like “Grandpa” Lyle Gerard and “Muffin Man” Kevin Kager who read to students weekly.
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