School sponsored events on Sundays considered

In observance of February as Minnesota’s school board appreciation month, NRHEG School board members were presented with certificates of service and with churro flavored cookies prepared by members of the Pro-Start food preparation and serving class as their monthly meeting began.

 

School board members were also presented with two difficult questions during their regular monthly meeting the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 20.

 

One item discussed was the possibility of allowing school-sponsored activities, “anything with the name ‘panthers’ attached to it,” to be scheduled on Sundays.

 

Controversy is based in the fact that other groups, including sports associations, frequently rent school facilities for weekend events, filling the school with children and their families often from a very wide area.

 

Yet, thanks to a longstanding policy, Panther teams are not even allowed to hold practices on Sunday. 

 

Board chair Rick Schultz pointed out that the question of Sunday events has been brought to the school board for consideration in the past; at that time, he said, board members held firm to the idea that “there should be at least one day a week that is strictly for families to spend time together.”

 

Community Education director Macy Whiteside let the board know that competition for gym space makes it “harder and harder to avoid scheduling events on Sundays.”

 

Board members discussed the possibility of allowing Sunday activities with the specific proviso that any students who did not attend would not suffer negative consequences. When asked for his input, secondary principal Grant Berg described the idea as a “slippery slope,” suggesting that, even if there were no direct repercussions for missed events, team members would be likely to experience indirect consequences–for example, less developed skills because of missed practices leading to less play time during games.

 

After discussing the question a bit longer, board members decided not to take any action, but for each to do his or her own research on the question and give deep consideration toward a possible future vote.

 

Whiteside also took about half an hour of the meeting to summarize what she sees as a quandary for the Panther Preschool program. Whiteside pointed out that the community education program’s two preschool teachers–one located at each site–supervise more than 80 students ages 3 and 4 who attend between 4 and 12 hours of schooling each week.

 

Parents of preschoolers pay to have their children take part in the program with a certain number of “scholarships” offered to families for whom the cost would be a hardship. Whiteside explained that the pay for the preschool teachers has been “pretty much a break-even prospect,” with the income from tuition and grant-based scholarships.

 

This has led, however, to a disparity of nearly $10 an hour between the wages of the preschool instructors and the average wage paid to staff teaching students in kindergarten through senior high under their master agreement.

 

Whiteside praised preschool teachers Elizbeth and Grace Nelson, commenting that it would be a tremendous loss to the district if the two–who happen to be sisters–should be drawn away by the prospect of higher wages.

 

After summarizing her points, Whiteside requested that the board consider finding a way to pay the preschool instructors at the same level as other teachers. 

 

This question, too, was taken under advisement; no action occurred during the Feb. 20 meeting.

 

The prospect of a third difficult question was raised by a resolution recommended to the board by district superintendent Michael Meihak. Meihak was unable to attend the meeting, but asked board members to vote on a resolution meant to open the possibility of future reductions in school staff.

 

No names or programs were provided; the resolution simply met certain requirements to pave the way for possible future reductions. Board members commented that supplemental funds offered by state and federal agencies in response to the Covid pandemic are no longer available, possibly leading to a need to reduce spending. They passed the requested resolution, mentioning that further discussion on the topic will occur during an upcoming work session.

 

During his report to the board, elementary principal Craig Kopetzki observed that absences have been on the rise, with 64 students gone from his site on Feb. 20. He also described a recent successful “Kindness Campaign” which included a visit from the Austin Bruins hockey team. A “kindness tree” is now on display at the elementary site where everyone has been encouraged to post positive statements. Finally, he told school board members that the annual “Green Eggs and Ham” breakfast held during the first week in March is already sold out.

 

Secondary principal Berg reported that Snow Week had been successful at his site. He mentioned that students have completed registration for the classes they plan to take during the 2024-25 school year and that a master schedule of classes is being constructed based on that information. He told board members the National Honor Society is sponsoring a blood drive on Friday, March 15.  Berg also mentioned that the secondary site is looking at developing a peer tutoring program centered around helping students with their math skills.

 

District Teaching and Learning coordinator Jason Toupence told board members that ACCESS testing for students whose first language is something other than English will take place in March, as will certain state-wide Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) at various levels.