School Board Recognition Week set for February 15-19

The Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) has set the week of February 15 through February 19 as School Board Recognition Week. The mission of MSBA is to support, promote and enhance the work of public school boards and public education. Cook County School District, together with all public school districts across the state will honor their local board members for their commitment to their communities and children.

“It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and our board members devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level,” said Superintendent Beth Schwarz. “They make the tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect. Recently, our board members voted to volunteer their time, giving up their yearly stipends to help with budget reductions.”

According to Minnesota law, “the care, management, and control of independent districts shall be vested in a board of directors, to be known as the school board.” Minnesota school board members are elected officials who oversee the operation of approximately 2,000 schools and the education of 825,000 students. Those schools employ more than 52,000 teachers in addition to thousands of administrators and support staff across the state.

The Cook County School Board will be recognized by administration and staff at the February 18, 2016 regular board meeting. Schwarz summed up, “School board members give the Cook County citizens a voice in education decision making. Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in February, their contribution is a year-round commitment.”