B-OPS School Board selects Stoeckman as interim superintendent

Transportation needs lead to shift in busing

 

Following a second round of interviews conducted by members of the Butterfield-Odin Public School (B-OPS) School Board during a special meeting on Monday afternoon, August 15, the board made the selection for a half-time interim superintendent from the two candidates.

Chosen was Allen “Al” Stoeckman, who had most recently served as interim superintendent in the Menahga School District for grades PreK-12, beginning last October. Prior to that, he was the superintendent at Yellow Medicine East in Granite Falls.

The second candidate interviewed was Raymond “Ray” Arsenault. Arsenault had served as director of East Range Academy in Eveleth for five years and before that, was superintendent of Gallup McKinley Country Schools in Gallup, New Mexico.

The pair of candidates were presented to the school board by Sandy Gundlach, Director of School Board Services for the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA). The B-OPS School Board had retained the services of the MSBA for the search for an interim superintendent. These services are being provided pro bono for the school district.

All board members noted that it was a difficult decision between two highly-rated candidates.

Board members Diane Peterson and Leon Wenner were tapped to serve on a committee to negotiate the interim superintendent contract, with support from the MSBA’s Gundlach.

District makes changes in transportation services

Following the resignation of two of the school district’s three bus drivers – and the new school year beginning next Monday – a quick decision was needed in order to provide transportation services for students. The three bus routes of past years have now been pared to two for 2016-2017.

B-OPS K-12 Principal Barry Schmidt presented several options as plans of action, with board members selecting a one-year proposal from Full Warranty Bus Leasing of New Ulm. In this option, the district will lease one bus, contract one bus – keep one of its buses as a shuttle bus for classes and activities – and receive a back-up bus. Current driver Steve Christensen will remain with the fleet, with his services paid for by the district. Full Warranty will contract and employ the driver for the second bus route.

The bus proceeds are paid up front, and will be kept in a separate account. If the decision is made after one year to discontinue the contract, the district will be able to purchase back the buses.

In other business

+ Approved the hiring of Megan Lindquist as a full-time preschool/Title 1 teacher at a salary of $35,889.

+ Approved the hiring of Clifford Anderson as a half-time science teacher (biology, chemistry, earth science and anatomy) at a salary off $28,586.

+ Approved the hiring of Terry Etter at a full-time vocal music teacher/director at a salary of $39,050.

+ Approved moving Emily Kern from .26 full-time employment (FTE) Title 1 teacher to .65 FTE at a salary of $22,650.

+ Accepted the resignation of Donnie Sandbo, route bus driver.

+ Accepted the resignation of Shawn Hiebert, route bus driver and custodian, effective August 18.

+ Accepted the resignation of Bev Lenning, food service assistant, effective August 10.

+ Approved a contract for snow removal with Andy’s Auto Repair and Towing for $65 an hour, logged by an hour meter on the machine. A second bid of $60 an hour was received from Linscheid Pump Service.

+ Approved a business office services contract with Clifton Larson Allen at a cost of $4,200 per month. This service includes 10 hours of work a week by a staff accountant, 30 hours per month by a business manager and performance by quality assurance as requested.

+ Accepted a voluntary pre-kindergarten grant of $87,727 for this school year, allowing 15 four-year-olds in the district to attend preschool five days a week. This pre-kindergarten expansion was made possible by a $25 million investment secured this past Minnesota Legislative session. For more information, see link at: http://www.cross-countiesconnect.com/2016/08/seventy-four-minnesota-public-school-districts-charter-schools-receive-state-funding-for-preschool-students/.

+ Approved a resolution calling for a General Election for four school board members for terms of four years each to be held on Tuesday, November 8, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

+ Presented a report on the 2016 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) results from half-time Acting Superintendent Sandi Novak. She noted that state tests are given to students in a school district once a year, based on their grade level and subject area in order to measure student achievement. The MCA is a state test that helps districts measure student progress toward Minnesota’s academic standards – and also meet federal and state legislative requirement. MCA in reading is given in grades 3-8 and grade 10, in mathematics, grades 3-8 and grade 11 and in science, in grades 5, 8 and high school. The B-OPS results were compared with the surrounding districts of St. James, Mountain Lake, Comfrey, Madelia and Sleepy Eye – as well as the State proficiency.

In a comparative analysis of districts:

• B-OPS free/reduced lunch percentage (poverty index) is the highest of the surrounding district (68%), with the closest poverty index of area districts those of St. James and Madelia (each with 54%).
• B-OPS ELL (English Language Learner) population of 11% is similar to St. James (12%); slightly less than Madelia (19%) and more than Mountain Lake (8%) and Comfrey and Lake Crystal with no ELL.
• B-OPS special education percentage is the highest of surrounding districts with 26%. Other districts’ special education percentages run from Comfrey with 21%; Madelia, 19%; Mountain Lake, 18% and St. James and Lake Crystal, 15% each.

In an overview of the 2016 Reading MCA:

• The B-OPS reading proficiency rate has had a downward trend from 2011-2015 in both elementary and secondary. In 2016, there was a slight increase in scores.
• B-OPS 2016 reading proficiency scores for both elementary and secondary are the lowest of the five comparative districts. Districts of St. James, Mountain Lake and Sleepy Eye all had proficiency scores of at least 20% higher than Butterfield. The B-OPS 2016 reading proficiency was 36%. The State proficiency reading score was 60%, with the B-OPS average 36%.

The 2016 Mathematics MCA overview reflected that:

• 2016 mathematics proficiency scores for B-OPS also had a downward trend from 2012-2016. No other school district in the comparative study had this similar pattern.
• These 2016 mathematics proficiency scores (23%) are the lowest of the comparative district. The Minnesota proficiency was 60%.
• The school districts of Mountain Lake (62%) and Sleepy Eye (66%) exceeded the average State proficiency score of 60%.

An overview of the 2016 Science MCA showed that:

• B-OPS science proficiency rate was the lowest in 2016, with 16% proficient. These scores are the lowest of all comparative districts in this analysis.
• Minnesota proficiency score was 55%.

Superintendent Novak shared that steps have been taken to improve test scores. The most notable is the addition of classroom libraries and the implementation of 30 minutes a day dedicated to reading, especially of non-fiction titles. Principal Schmidt stated that Triumph State Bank of Butterfield and Odin State Bank are on board to get the classroom libraries fully stocked. Novak emphasized that students read 65% more when books are accessible in the classroom.

+ Received a technology report from Steve Christensen. Christensen noted that this year technology updates included:

• Installation of a 30-united computer lab, including Hewlett-Packard (HP) desktop minis running Windows 10 Operating System (OS).
• Cleaning and calibration of 23 overhead smartboard projection systems and two Mitsubishi projectors replaced with Epsons in fifth-grade and sixth-grade.
• Update of 60 iPads to the 9.3.2 OS.
• Update of 27 HP laptops to Windows 10 OS, saving the district over $3,000 in upgrade fees from Microsoft.
• Dismantling of the older computer lab.
• A close working relationship with the district’s new technology consultant, Toeun Chiet to discover the scope of the currently-used hardware and software. Creation of an inventory list, as well as an assessment of licensures and user account settings and risk assessments

Christensen also presented a three-to-five year technology plan for the district that includes:

• APC power supply status upgrades to all servers.
• Physical and OS updates to servers and switches, allowing for offsite duplication and backup of school data.
• Security updates to firewalls, servers and user portals, along with significant restructuring of the district’s Operating Units (OUs) in the Google Administration Console.

Long-range road map includes the following recommendations:

• Virtualize all physical servers. This will remove hardware dependency from the server operating system. It will also offer the ability to create snapshot backups.
• Network monitoring. Installation of an alert mechanism that will notify technical staff when network devices, services and critical applications go offline.
• Windows Software Update Services (WSUS) Server. This service allows clients to pull updates from a local central location which speeds up the Windows patching process. It also saves internet bandwidth usage to be utilized for more critical tasks.
• Group policy management. Applying group policies to help control things such as logon, screen savers, map drives, password requirements and much more would create a more uniform environment.

+ Tabled until the September meeting the approval of a recommendation approving a tuition rate increase for the B-OPS Daycare Program until more information concerning food services can be acquired.

Brought to the attention of school board members was information on the program, and proposed changes:

• The main revenues for daycare are tuition payments and school-age care restricted levy revenue.
• The main expenses are staff wages, benefits and food.
• Daycare expenditures have exceeded daycare revenues for the past six fiscal years in amounts ranging from $4,349 to $26,916. Expenditures in excess of revenues – before any transfers from the General Fund – have averaged $21,059 over the last six years. This has resulted in a cumulative negative (projected) fund balance of $149,227, as of June 30, 2016.
• To help eliminate this deficit, being explored a few different avenues. On the expense side, research is being done into purchasing more food from the district’s food service vendors – and less food externally (grocery stores and gas stations). In relation to revenue, tuition rate increases are being looked at. The current tuition rate if $2.30 an hour for all ages, which has remained the same for the past seven years. Customers pay only for the hours their child/children is/are actually attending the daycare.
• Proposed rate increase would change the rate structure to a tiered rate configuration for families willing to sign a contract for a set number of hours. This proposed set rate structure runs – $3/hour for infants, $2.95/hour for toddlers, $2.90/hour for preschool and $2.85/hour for school-age. Hours in excess of contracted hours would be charged at the applicable hourly rate, plus $0.25/hour. Drop-in child care (no contracted hours) would be at a daily rate of $20/day.
• A recommendation to charge for meals consumed, with a breakfast cost of $0.63 and a lunch fee of $1.28.

+ Approved the second reading of Policy 414, Mandated Reporting of Child Neglect or Physical or Sexual Abuse. The purpose of this policy is to make clear the statutory requirements of school personnel to report suspected child neglect or physical or sexual abuse.

+ Approved the first reading of Policy 616, School District System Accountability. The purpose of this policy is to focus public education strategies on a process which promotes higher academic achievement for all students, and ensures broad-based community participation in decisions regarding the implementation of the Minnesota Academic Standards and the No Child Left Behind Act. Minnesota Statute requires school districts to adopt such a comprehensive long-term strategic plan that addresses the review of curriculum, instruction, student achievement and assessment.

+ Approved a second reading of Policy 910, Awarding an Honorary Diploma. The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for the awarding of honorary diplomas. The first Honorary Diploma will be presented at the September regular school board meeting.

+ Heard from B-OPS Board Member Diane Peterson with committee reports on River Bend and Watonwan County Collaborative.

+ Heard the Principal’s Report from Principal Schmidt.

+ Learned three new points of information from Superintendent Novak’s administrative report:

• The 2015-2016 audit date is October 10 2016.
• An update on enrollment for the 2016-2017 school year. As of August 10, elementary enrollment stands at 108, and high school numbers at 105, (for a total student population of 213), both a decrease. There are two open enrollments, one from Darfur (grade 5) and one from St. James (grade 9).  There was one more new student enrollment (kindergarten) of a district resident. The numbers on students who have transferred/moved out the district include three (grades 3,4 and 6) that have moved out of the district, six (grades 1, 8, 10 – three in this grade – and 11) who have returned to the St. James Public School District and two (grades  and 10) who have open-enrolled to St. James.
• Information from the school district’s insurance provider of claims brought by Lisa Shellum, former B-OPS Principal/Superintendent. The district is obligated to follow the direction of the provider. The provider has hired an attorney for representation.