School Board Recognition Week is February 20-24
The Minnesota School Boards Association has set Monday, February 20 to Friday, February 24 as School Board Recognition Week in Minnesota as a time to build awareness and understanding of the vital function an elected board of education plays in our society.
Both the Mountain Lake Public School District and the Butterfield-Odin Public School District are joining all public school districts across the state to celebrate School Board Recognition Week to honor local board members for their commitment to each district’s children.
It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these men and women are there to make sure their schools are helping every child learn at a higher level. They face making tough decisions every month and spend hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability..
Minnesota school board members are chosen by their communities to manage local schools. They oversee multimillion dollar budgets which fund education programs for more than 825,000 students in approximately 2,000 schools. Their personnel decisions affect more than 52,000 teachers and thousands of administrators and support workers.
These volunteer leaders also are responsible for formulating school district policy, approving curricula, maintaining school facilities, and adhering to state and federal education law. Legal concerns and the complexities of school finance, including budgeting and taxation, require them to spend many hours in board training programs and personal study to enhance their understanding of these issues.
The key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:
- Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority.
- Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do.
- Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels.
- Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results.
- Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach.
- Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems.
- Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.
School board members give citizens a voice in education decision-making. Even though the appreciation is held in February, their contribution is a year-round commitment.
The school board members serving the two districts include:
+ Mountain Lake Public School –
- Chair Chad Pedersen.
- Vice-Chair Tom Fast.
- Clerk Julie Brugman.
- Treasurer Pam Hoek.
- Director Doug Standerwick.
- Director Matt Gohr.
- Director Tim Swoboda.
+ Butterfield-Odin Public School –
- Chair Kristy Haseman.
- Vice-Chair Pam Xayaphonesongkham.
- Clerk Renae Meyer.
- Treasurer Shannon Sykes.
- Director Leon Wenner.
- Director Joel Penner.
- Director Andy Pierson.