Approves proposed levy; agreement with architect, construction manager
Members of the Mountain Lake Public School (MLPS) School Board certified the proposed levy 2017 payable 2018 at the school government group’s Monday, September 18 regular board meeting.
Each September, school boards representing school districts across the state must approve a proposed levy that results in property taxation of citizens to provide funds for the school. Once the proposed levy is approved by the school board, the county auditor will notify taxpayers of the impact that levy will have on property taxes.
A public information meeting (Truth In Taxation) is slated to be held Monday, December 18 inside the board’s regular monthly meeting. Following reconvening of the regular meeting, adoption of the final levy will be approved.
Levy highlights include:
+ 2017 Payable 2018 Total Levy for the district will increase by $85,540,87 – from $879,995.21 to $965,536.08.
+ 2017 Payable 2018 General Education Levy will increase by $80,454.42 – from $836,548.79 to $917,003.21.
+ 2017 Payable 2018 Community Services Levy will increase by $5,086.45 – from $43,446.42 to $48,532.87.
Approve agreement between owner, architect, construction manager
Board members also approved the standard form of agreement between owner (MLPS), architect (MLA Architects of St. Paul) and Construction Manager (Kraus-Anderson of Circle Pines) for a facility study, referendum planning and school improvements.
This agreement includes consultants retained by the architect, Mark Lenz of MLA Architects. These include LS Engineers of Le Sueur (structural engineer) and Dolejs Associates (mechanical and electrical engineer).
In other business
+ Approved Justin Klassen and Jennifer Shouse-Klassen as volunteers to assist with the fall play, “Little Shop of Horrors.”
+ Approved the resignation of paraprofessional Eileen Thiessen.
+ Approved Jordan Larson, Derek Harder, Jordan Kirk and Carter Kirk as volunteer football coaches.
+ Approved open enrollments – five into the district and six out of the district. The current early childhood special education-to-grade 12 enrollment stands at 516.
+ Approved the following Meet and Confer dates:
- Monday, October 16, 2017; 5 p.m.; Room #1.
- Monday, January 16, 2018; 5 p.m.; Room #1.
- Monday, April 16, 2018; 5 p.m.; Room #1.
- Monday, July 16, 2018; 5 p.m.; Room #1.
+ Approved the list of upcoming school board meetings:
- Monday, October 16, 2017, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Monday, November 20, 2017, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Monday, December 18, 2017, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Tuesday, January 16, 2018, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Tuesday, February 20, 2018, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Monday, March 19, 2018, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Monday, April 16, 2018, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Monday, May 21, 2018, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Monday, June 25, 2018, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
- Monday, July 16, 2018, regular school board meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.
+ Approved the Robert and Helen Remick Charitable Foundation Trust grant application of $8,659 by kindergarten teachers Nicole James and Kelli Tucholke for Imagination Playground – playground equipment (including dense foam blocks) and storage containers – for indoor recess/creative time.
+ Approved the hiring of a part-time homebound teacher (Anne Bruns) and part-time homebound paraprofessional (Benzie Yang) to service a student with a program plan established by Windom Public School. Because of a change of location of the student, the education plan is now the responsibility of the Mountain Lake School District.
+ Heard a MLPS Building Committee update. Mark Lenz of MLA and Gary Benson of Kraus-Anderson met with building committee members on Monday, September 11 to review what has been done by the committee up to this point. All of the former committee members (MLPS School Board member and Building Committee Chair Tim Swoboda, Vice-Chair Tom Appel, Cheri Hanson, Jerry Haberman, Bruce Swanson, Bryan Bargen, Vern Peterson, Shawn Naas and John Carrison) were in attendance. Lenz and Benson additionally met on September 13 with MLPS Superintendent Bill Strom, Mountain Lake Public High School Principal Michelle Larson, Mountain Lake Public Elementary School Principal Jon Schwaegerl, Buildings and Grounds/Maintenance Supervisor John Carrison to review the list of projects school staff has tabulated since 2004. Presented were a pair of options. The first – Option A – included plans incorporating the list of staff needs, these details put into place to ensure they were in the project plan. The second – Option B – dealt with plans that included removal of the 1903 building. One item addressed in Option A included the possibility of relocating sixth grade classrooms into the current space occupied by special education in the high school building, freeing up space to move elementary special education into the elementary building, with many room options also available for high school special education. Also discussed were the issues of high school band and choir placed in the former indoor swimming pool space, the red auditorium seats, storage needs, moving the weight room to the old gym stage, dedicated space for an ELL (English Language Learner) classroom as well as a foreign language ITV room (currently high school students are taking Spanish over ITV from an instructor located at Canby High School), an improved science lab, the needs of day care – and the merging of LTFM (Long-Term Facilities Management) funds and projects . According to Superintendent Strom, “What we learned is that we can use the space in the buildings to answer our curriculum needs.” Strom also stressed that, “These plans are not locked into place, not set in stone; right now, its all conceptual.” MLA will focus on creating a plan during the month of October. The next building committee meeting is slated for Monday, September 25, 6 p.m., in Room #1.
+ Learned that MLPS School Board Clerk Julie Brugman, as a representative of the Windom Hospital Board, will be attending a Learning Lab in Sioux Falls, South Dakota conducted by Sanford Health. The program works with local businesses and is incorporated into schools.
+ The next regular school board meeting will be Monday, October 16, 5:30 p.m., Room #1.