On December 20, 2011, the ISD 166 school board voted on a 2012 operating levy of $947,256.34, 3.94 percent lower than its 2011 levy of $986,128.71. The amount is part of a five-year operating levy approved by Cook County voters in 2010.
The district’s 2012 levy would be over $300,000 higher if not for the taconite credit in place because Minnesota Power in Taconite Harbor provides energy to mines on the Iron Range. “We certainly want that facility to remain healthy,” Superintendent Beth Schwarz said.
The district’s levy is right in the middle of the eight districts with the closest enrollment figures above and below ISD 166’s enrollment of just under 500 students. Because of changes in the state’s homestead tax system and in property valuations, not all individual tax assessments will decrease, however.
In the middle of its current fiscal year, the district is within the parameters of its budget, and according to Superintendent Schwarz, “the warm temperatures may have a positive impact on our general fund deficit.”
The previous school board set a policy requiring a fund balance equal to the cost of operating for 45 days. Last June the fund balance had decreased to 27 days and was expected to decrease to 20 days, or $572,000, by next June. The board approved a temporary suspension of its policy and authorized a minimum 30-day fund balance. Getting back to 30 days would be “pretty tough,” Schwarz said.
“If it’s a policy,” Terry Collins said, “I’d like to treat it as a policy.”
The board discussed what should be done about the district’s financial situation. Deb White agreed with other board members who believed some programs should be protected but said she believed they needed to look at what could be trimmed. In other ISD 166 news:
School sports funding allocations will now be based on an average of the participation fees paid by student athletes. The total amount generated by these fees will be divided by the number of students participating in all school sports. Each sport will get an allocation based on that average multiplied by the number of students participating that season. This process will ensure that community-managed sports get the same amount of funding per student as schoolrun sports.
The Alternative Choice Education
(A.C.E.) program is being replaced with an online credit recovery program in order to save the district money in teaching costs. An in-house facilitator will be on hand to help students who will recover credits through online classes, although the district has not decided on an online program yet. The school is looking for programs that will work well for students who need to make up credits.
The board approved hiring Melissa Oberg to be the credit recovery facilitator for six hours a week at $17/hour. In the past, A.C.E. teachers received $28/hour during the school year and their regular hourly rate of pay during the summer.
School board member Jeanne
Anderson, on the Finance Team, said the team’s consensus was that increasing the fund balance would hurt programming.
School board member Terry Collins, on the Academic Team, said they would recommend purchase of a survey tool in March that would be used to survey CCHS graduates. The purpose would be to obtain data that could enhance programming decisions.
The board plans to discuss at a work session whether the five teams assembled two years ago need to continue operating on a regular basis. The teams include school board members, administrative staff, faculty, and community members.
The board recapped a recent work session discussion regarding a new superintendent contract. They are considering reducing the contract from 260 days to 240 days a year, reducing vacation days by one, and reducing the total pay and benefits package by 2-5 percent.
Superintendent Schwarz requested a two-year contract with a 2% pay reduction the first year, to be taken from her benefits package, and a pay increase the second year in whatever percentage the teachers might get that year. If this were approved, Schwarz’s salary would remain at $95,000 for the fourth year in a row.
Several school board members are working with the Cook County Education Association to set up a format to discuss issues they have with Superintendent Beth Schwarz. At a previous school board meeting, Deb White had suggested that the entire school board meet with the entire teaching staff in a public meeting. The union has told the board they do not want to have this discussion in a public meeting. Any meeting at which a quorum of the school board is present to discuss school business would be open to the public, however.
Principal Gwen Carman has been meeting individually with teachers to discuss how they are utilizing datadriven instruction (tailoring teaching to needs identified in frequent testing modules). She told the school board that each teacher uses the system in an individual way based on his or her own teaching style.
In a memo to teachers, Carman stated, “All students in the same class/same grade level are not the same – it makes our job harder, but they shouldn’t always be taught the same. We need to consider differences in students’ interests, pace of learning, readiness, abilities, and learning style preferences in our instruction. …Data driven/differentiated instruction done well will also increase student engagement. Student engagement not only positively impacts achievement, but also students’ attitudes toward school and their overall behavior.”
“I am so excited about it,” Carman said. “It’s just been so positive.” She is also talking to the teachers individually about options for formal evaluation of their performance. A report to the board stated, “…I am finding the one-to-one conversation to be even more valuable than I anticipated.”
The teacher’s union is considering backing an application to the Minnesota Department of Education for Q-Comp, a professional development and performance-based compensation system that could bring $70,000-120,000 into the district.
Superintendent Schwarz informed the school board that Minnesota was one of eight states to receive federal Race to the Top funding for early childhood education. States that demonstrate excellence in areas such as assessment, data tracking, staff development, and school improvement are awarded the funding.
The board voted to add a student representative to the school board. The representative will be eligible to apply for a $3,000 scholarship from the Minnesota School Board Association to be awarded to two high school seniors acting as school board student reps.
Superintendent Schwarz commended the coaching staff for its response to students at the Esko basketball games December 15 after they received word of shootings at the Cook County courthouse.
A letter from Ross Fremont, the head official at those games, stated, “I want to commend the parents, coaches and players of Cook County High School for their sportsmanship and fortitude to overcome a tragic situation. During the lineups, one of the students went running out of the gym crying, based on a text message she had received. We as officials did not know the magnitude of the situation at hand.
“During halftime of the game, we found out about the courthouse shooting in Cook County, which impacted not only one player but all of the Cook County community. A buzz was going around the crowd with tidbits of information about the situation back home. A lot of questions and rumors were floating around the gym, but the parents, coaches, and players found inner strength to compete at the highest level of sport not knowing what they were going to be arriving to. Good job, Cook County!”
Superintendent Schwarz said, “We extend our thoughts and prayers to everyone involved in the incident on December 15, 2011.”
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