Sandra ‘Sandi’ Novak now serving the school district
“My passion is working with kids to enhance their learning,” shared Butterfield-Odin Public School’s (B-OPS) new half-time Acting Superintendent Sandra “Sandi” Novak of Lakeville, after B-OPS School Board Members approved her hiring at their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 16, in the school’s media room.
Superintendent Novak will take over for part-time Interim Superintendent Tom Ames beginning tomorrow (Wednesday, February 17). Her contract will run through June 30. She will complete official school district business up to an average of 2.5 days per week.
Her contract states that she will be paid $550 per day, subject to applicable and usual payroll deductions. There is no compensation or benefits, including paid vacation, insurance or pension benefits, or any other compensation. The school district will reimburse Novak mileage, at the rate approved by the school board, when she uses her own vehicle on school district-approved business – including transportation to-and-from her residence in Lakeville. Novak will also be reimbursed for reasonable hotel expenses associated with her services for the school district.
Novak was initially interviewed by board members on Thursday, February 11. At that meeting, the board agreed to offer the half-time Acting Superintendent Shellum’s superintendent pay per day and mileage as a starting salary in order to have pay equity.
The board vote for approval was 4-2. Voting in favor were Board Chair Joel Penner, Board Vice-Chair Leon Wenner, Board Treasurer Andy Pierson and Board Clerk Tammy Wolle. Board Director Kristy Haseman and Board Director Renae Meyer voted against. Board Director Diane Peterson was absent from the meeting. Haseman, in her dissent, voiced her concerns with the pay, especially in relation to the daily rate of former superintendent, Lisa Shellum.
The sixty-two-year-old Novak graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree from St. Cloud State University, received her Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and her Education Specialist degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
She has been an educator for 40 years, including as a teacher, an elementary and junior high principal, a curriculum coordinator and assistant superintendent. These education positions have been in the Mazeppa School District, Owatonna School District and the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District. She retired in 2010, and is now an independent educational consultant working with individual school districts, as well as with businesses.
Novak has presented at the local, state and national levels about education topics. She is the author of one book, “Student-Led Discussions: How Do I Promote Rich Conversations About Books, Videos, and Other Media,” that offers the resources needed to develop meaningful student-led conversations about text and media across the content areas. She has written two more books, slated to be published and released in July.
She has three adult children – 34-year-old twins (son and daughter), a 27-year-old son – and two grandchildren who love to read.
In other business
+ Directed the new Acting Superintendent to make recommendations for adjustments in curriculum, programs and staff for the following school year.
+ Superintendent Novak will begin to do the leg work and present the available options to assist in the search for a half-time Long-Term Superintendent.
+ Approved to renew the Purchase Services Agreement with CliftonLarsonAllen of Mankato to serve as the school district’s business manager. Pierson, Wenner and Peterson met with representatives of the accounting firm to work out the agreement. The new agreement is for $4,200 per month, up from the firm’s first six-month proposal. At that time, the cost was $3,000 per month, along with an audit preparation fee of $2,625. The audit prep cost is figured into the new monthly fee. Additionally the firm will be adding a Human Resources staff member to serve school district employees two hours per month, on top of the two accountants who already work for the district.
+ Set Thursday, March 24 as the school’s make-up Snow Day.
+ Discussed the attorney fees from School Attorney Kevin Rupp during the financial report and payment of February bills. Haseman questioned why the district was waiting on billings from Rupp’s office. “They have done a large amount of legal work. Are they being paid by another source?” Pierson responded that, “We have received no bills since June 30, 2015.” Haseman also noted that she will be in Minneapolis this Friday, February 19, and will stop at the Rupp, Anderson, Squires & Waldspurger, P. A. office to view the public information on the school district’s attorney bills since the end of last June, per her request to J. Johnson, the firm’s accounts manager.
+ Heard a presentation by Haseman on behalf of the Negotiations Committee. Other committee members include Penner and Meyer, with Peterson as the alternate. The committee, along with teacher representatives Joyce Bolte, Sherri Gustafson and LuAnn Augustin, along with their union rep, Jackie Baumgard, discussed language in the contract. Haseman noted that a financial package had not yet been presented for a vote, and welcomed Novak to attend the next negotiations meeting to assist in plugging in numbers for the formation of the financial package. That meeting will be held Tuesday, March 8, at 5:30 p.m., in the Board Room.
+ Heard the Administration Report from B-OPS K-12 Principal Barry Schmidt and half-time Principal Lisa Shellum. Schmidt shared information on work being done in the classrooms from kindergarten to grade 12 to address students’ educational needs. Shellum presented information that St. James Public School is considering two school calendars that will coordinate around the school district’s building project. She noted that the school start state for the 2016-2017 school year will be August 22, with an end date of May 12. The following 2017-2018 school year will have a September 11 first day of school, with the final day of that year on June 1. Despite the changing calendars, Shellum stressed that, “Butterfield-Odin students will benefit from what they (St. James Public School District) are doing.” She also included in her portion of the report that accommodations are being made for a teacher in the school district to take a long-term leave of absence.
+ Wenner, the compliance officer for the in-school family-based Day Care, noted that all has been going well since it reopened under his name on Monday, January 25.
+ Heard the Staff Development report from Schmidt. Included in the report was the information that Butterfield-Odin Public High School English teacher Dawn Johnson had attended a language arts in-service in Rochester, and that discussion was held on mileage for staff use of the school van.
+ Decided that evening two-to-three-hour Board Workshops are the best option. Superintendent Novak suggested holding one workshop in March, and a second in April. The date set for the first workshop is Thursday, March 10, beginning at 6 p.m. The workshop meetings are open to the public.
+ During Open Forum, Shellum addressed Novak, publicly welcoming her to the school district. Also speaking was Lori Urevig, Shellum’s sister, who, as a parent with a student in the district, welcomed Novak to her post. Urevig additionally shared that a community group has been formed in order to take their concerns over what has been happening in the school district over the past 14 months to the attention of the office of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.
