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School board addresses state aid delay PDF Print E-mail
Pope County Tribune - Starbuck Times
Written by John R. Stone   
Thursday, 29 September 2011 10:12

The Minnewaska Area Schools Board of Education approved the sale of $2,980,000 in Aid Anticipation Certificates last week to make up for school aid delayed by the Minnesota Legislature.

The board approved the bid of 0.375 percent for the certificates from United Bankers Bank and Eagle Bank of Glenwood.

"This is the lowest rate we have seen for 11 months," said Carolyn Drude, executive vice-president of Ehlers Inc., a public finance firm, who presented the bid results to the board.

The bids ranged as high as .48 percent. Total interest for the 11 months of the certificates will be $10,243.75. The certificates will be paid off by October 6, 2012.

Superintendent Greg Ohl said that his most recent review of the district's finances was positive and would continue to be so with the arrival of the aid certificate money Oct 6. The money will be repaid as state aid payments are received each month.

The board also heard preliminary proposed levy results for the 2012 tax levy.

Ohl said that the district was proposing a levy increase of $48,580 or 1.64 percent. The total levy would be $3,017,734.72 as compared to $2,969,153.92 last year.

While the general revenue levy would increase for 2012, the debt retirement levy would decrease according to the preliminary numbers.

Ohl emphasized that the figures were preliminary. He said the district and the Minnesota Department of Education were verifying numbers at this point and the board approved an Oct. 4 special meeting to review final numbers and approve the levy. Because of the complexity of school levies, schools have a slightly later date to notify county auditors about levies; most other governments have to have their preliminary levies determined by Sept. 15.

"The impact of any increase is hard to judge," said Ohl. "There have been changes in the way the state determines the value of property. We may have a better idea of that impact at our Oct. meeting."

In another financial issue the board will consider a tax abatement request for an addition to Midwest Machinery and scheduled consideration of that request following a hearing at the October 4 special meeting.

Glenwood City Administrator David Iverson brought the plan to the school board that called for the district to forgo roughly $2,426 per year for 12 years. The district would continue to receive tax revenue at the current level from the structure, the revenue for the increase in value due to the addition would be abated for the 12 years.

In other action the board:

• heard reports from different school officials about the start of the school year, all of them positive.

"We had a fantastic start to the school year," said MAHS principal Pat Falk, who is starting his first year in that role. There was a lot of positive feeling."

"We're off to a very good start, there is a very positive feeling in the building," said Jim Stang, new principal at Minnewaska Area Elementary School.

"It was a very good start," added Ohl. "I've never seen a smoother start. Enrollment is about where we expected it would be. Some students left the area as their parents moved, other new students moved in."

Activities director Bill Mills said that roughly 51 percent of students in grades 7-12 at MAHS are involved in fall activities, 245 students out of a total of 483. In seventh-and-eighth grades, 109 of 160 students are involved, meaning 68 percent are involved.

Mills said the Ann and Andy school readiness program has 61 students. and 50 are signed up for Early Childhood Family Education. Over 50 are involved in the after school program at MAES. The fall recreation numbers for K-6 graders in football is over 100. with 55 elementary girls involved in a youth volleyball program.

• heard Ohl report that the bugs had been worked out with the new speed reduction warning system on Highway 28-29 in front of MAHS. The system lowers the speed in front of the school from 55 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour when students are coming to school in the morning and when they are leaving school in the afternoon. The speed limit signs are highlighted by flashing yellow lights.

• Ohl also thanked the Minnesota Department of Transportation for cleaning up some tall weeds near the MAHS exit to the highway that had obstructed drivers' views to the east. The growth was in the highway ditch.

• approved the resignations of Cody Peltier as MAHS PARA and Lana Heggestad as MADT EBD Tech.

• approved the hiring of Jennifer Gullickson as MADT mental health practitioner, Kristine Tart as MAHS PARA, Ashley Debilzen as MAHS program PARA, Shannon Bosek as MAHS PARA, Amanda Peper as MAHS PARA, Jonathan Weaver as MAHS guidance counselor, Chelsie Rust as MAES program PARA and Brian Gruber as junior high football coach.

• approved position changes of Linda Mills to MAHS/MADT teacher from .629 FTE to .729 FTE, Michael Troen, MAHS teacher, from .629 FTE to .829 to include the responsibility of dean of students.

• approved leaves of absence for Michelle Manthei for roughly 30 days and Sarah Meier for approximately six weeks.

• approved a request from Linda Mills to participate in the part-time teacher program offered through the teacher retirement program for the 2011-2012 school year.

• approved lane changes for Jean Barkeim from MA+30 to MA+45; Gloria Nichtern from MA+30 to MA+45; Rebecca Reber from BA+30 to BA+60; Dacia Reichmann from BA to BA+15; Michael Troen from BA+30 to MA; Linda Mills from BA+60 to MA; Jennifer Johnsrud from MA+15 to MA+30; Denise VerSteeg from MA+15 to MA+30; JoAnn Kocher from MA+30 to MA+45; Kris Entzi from MA to MA+15; Karyn Clare from MA+30 to MA+45; and Beth Vos from BA+45 to BA+60.

• approved the retirement of Rhonda Johnson, MADT teacher, effective January 20, 2012.

• approved the payment of $619,116.31 in bills and acceptance of $7,586.52 in donations and gifts.

• reviewed the school district investment report that showed that the district had $345,308 in investments as of September 9, 2011. This was down from $1,744,338 at the previous board meeting.

• Heard food service director Pat Osterberg report that the district had participated in Farm to School Month by serving corn on the cob. He said some students told him that they had never had corn on the cob before and some had never known where corn came from prior to that meal.