Building Committee provides update
At the Monday, November 20 meeting of the Mountain Lake Public School (MLPS) School Board, members approved a complete roster of activities personnel – coaches, activity advisers and directors – who will serve various programs throughout the school district during the 2017-2018 school year.
There are positions yet to be filled, but will be filled as soon as an appropriate candidate is found.
The following activities personnel approved included:
+ Cross Country –
- Head Coach – Kyle Blomgren.
- Assistant Coach – Laura Penner.
+ Volleyball –
- Head Coach – Cheri Hanson.
- Assistant Coach – Michelle Ott.
- Ninth Grade Coach – Esther Klassen.
- 7/8 Grade Coaches – Mikkala Hup and Karen Johnson.
+ Football –
- Head Coach – Tim Kirk.
- Assistant Coaches – Nate Brinkman and Tim Snyder.
- 7/8 Grade Football Coaches – Bob Blom and Spenser Kipfer.
+ FFA –
- Head Advisor – Lindsey Brockberg.
- Assistant Advisors – Stephen Funk and Hayley Faber.
+ One-Act Play –
- Head Coach – Julie Brugman.
- Assistant Coach – Crystal Fast.
+ Play –
- Director – Sarah Tailowright.
- Assistant/Music Director – Kelli Tucholke.
+ Band Director –
- Kurt Jahnke.
+ Vocal Director –
- Christine Johnson.
+ Annual –
- Advisor – Jessica Svehla.
+ Class Advisors –
- Junior Class – Jayme Fast, Kristin Pfeiffer and Jessica Svehla.
- Senior Class – Brenda Feil, Shawn Naas and Kim Syverson.
+ High School Student Council –
- Co-Advisors – Jaime Banks and Kim Syverson.
+ Elementary Student Council –
- Co-Advisors – Amy Hartzler and Annette Kunkel.
+ Minnesota Honor Society –
- Advisor – Kurt Jahnke.
+ Elementary Science Fair –
- Advisors – Amy Hartzler and Pam Osland.
+ Grades 5-8 Spelling Bee –
- Advisor – Pam Osland.
+ Junior High/Senior High Knowledge Bowl –
- Coach – Jon Harder.
- Assistant Coach – Jessica Svehla.
+ Driver’s Education –
- Instructor (Classroom and Behind-The-Wheel) – Annette Kunkel.
+ Boys Basketball –
- Head Coach – Shawn Naas.
- “B” Coach – Nate Brinkman.
- Junior High Coaches – Tim Snyder and Spenser Kipfer.
+ Girls Basketball –
- Head Coach – Wayne Klassen.
- Assistant Coach – Ryan Jans.
- Junior High Coaches – Cody Klassen and Suzanna Strutz.
+ Track and Field –
- Head Coach – Scott Boelke.
- Assistant Coaches – Jaime Banks, Sarah Tailowright and a third assistant coach yet to be named.
+ Softball –
- Head Coach – Brian Hopwood.
- “B” Coach – Shawn Naas.
- Junior High Coaches – Kjell Eken and Hayley Faber.
+ Baseball –
- Head Coach – Tim Snyder.
- Assistant Coach – Tim Kirk.
- Junior High Coaches – Spenser Kipfer and Isaac Hildebrandt.
+ Golf –
- Head Coach – Chad Pedersen.
+ Trap Shooting –
- Advisor – Stephen Funk.
Building Committee presents update
The Building Committee presented a report on meetings and action taken on the building project in recent weeks.
On Monday afternoon, November 6, interested staff members met with Mark Lenz of MLA Architects, Inc. and Gary Benson of Krauss-Anderson Construction Company (KA) to review draft floor plans for the building project and provide feedback.
Following, the Building Committee met to review proposals, preliminary costs and again to provide feedback.
That evening, the MLPS School Board met to approve School Perceptions to work with the school district to create a survey to test building project priorities and local tax tolerance.
School administrators have also had several conversations with Lenz of MLA and Benson of KA to revise floor plans for Option A and Option B.
The two options being considered by the Building Committee include:
+ Option A (Keeping the existing 1904 building) –
- Complete upgrade of 1904 building student learning areas.
- Designate the basement level of the 1904 building as storage only.
- Relocate the basement Girls Locker Room to existing main level space in the building.
- Relocate the basement Weight Room to existing main level space in the building.
- Relocate Band and Choir to the former indoor swimming pool space.
- Relocate/upgrade Science Labs to a larger space.
- Relocate Foods Lab to the CTE (Career and Technical Education) Wing.
- Crete secured entries at the High School and Elementary School main entrances.
- Two new Sixth-Grade Classroom addition at Elementary Wing to meet capacity needs.
- Provide a Student Commons/Lobby area.
- Address the #1 priority building deficiencies.
+ Option B (Demolish the existing 1904 building):
- Demolish the 1904 building and provide new learning space in that area.
- Provide basement Girls Locker Room to existing main level space.
- Relocate basement Weight Room to existing main level space.
- Relocate Band and Choir to the former indoor swimming pool space.
- Relocate Foods Lab to the CTE Wing.
- Provide new Science Labs.
- Create secured entries at High School and Elementary School main entrances.
- Two new Sixth-Grade Classroom addition at the Elementary Wing to meet capacity needs.
- Provide Student Commons/Lobby area.
- Address the #1 priority building deficiencies.
Board Members appreciated seeing plans for both options being considered by the Building Committee, and believed better discussion will be the end result as more information is learned about both options.
In addition, members agreed that a Student Commons/Lobby area was important to the planning. The Board suggested locating this new area to the west of the school next to the Auditorium as a stand-alone addition. They believe this would achieve several goals:
- New front community image to the school.
- Easy accessibility for student use before, during and after school.
- An overflow space for school and community events using the gym and auditorium.
A meeting with the Building Committee is scheduled for Monday, November 27.
In other business
+ Approved the appointment of Matt Gohr, MLPS School Board Member, to the Building Committee as its chair.
+ Approved the hiring of Kristine Hopper, Diane Simpson, Ashley Watkins and Maria Baldaras as paraprofessionals for the 2017-2018 school year.
+ Approved the following donations:
- Remick Foundation – $3,500 for the Senior Class Trip.
- Remick Foundation – $1,815 for the Junior Class Trip to Park Square Theatre in St. Paul.
- Southwest Initiative Foundation – $3,205 for the Science Intervention Camp.
+ Approved open enrollments – three students entering the district and two students leaving the district.
+ Received the 2016-2017 District Financial Audit Report from Blake Bode of Eide Bailey.
+ Learned that negotiations meetings have been scheduled with the district’s two groups:
- Meeting with the MLMSEA (Mountain Lake Minnesota School Employees Association) and school board negotiators is scheduled for Tuesday, December 5, at 4 p.m. Members of the association includes non-certified union personnel – secretaries, paraprofessionals and custodians.
- Meeting with the MLEA (Mountain Lake Education Association) and school board negotiators will be on Wednesday, December 6, at 6 p.m. Members of the association includes certified union personnel – teachers.
+ Heard from the Community Education Services Committee, which met on Wednesday, November 1. Committee members include:
- Pam Hoek – School Board Member/Parent.
- Sherry Pankratz – Community Education Services Coordinator/ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) Director.
- Bill Strom – Superintendent.
- Shawn Naas – Faculty Representative/Summer Activities.
- Laurie Bartsch – Discovery Preschool Teacher.
- Joanne Karschnik – Town & Country Daycare Director.
+ Approved the environmental health and safety management services agreement between MLPS and IEA (Institute for Environmental Assessment, Inc.) for the 2017-2018 school year. For the past 15 years, Steve Musser of Musser Environmental has served as the district’s environmental consultant. He has recently re-organized his business. As a result, Musser Environmental will no longer serve the district. Musser did assist MLPS to move the service contract for this school year to IEA. IEA has agreed to provide services for the rate established by Musser for the school year.
+ Approved the World’s Best Workforce Report. The World’s Best Workforce bill was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2013 to ensure that every school district in the state is making strides to increase student performance. Each district must develop a plan that addresses the following five goals:
- All children are ready for school.
- All third-graders can read at grade level.
- All racial and economic achievement gaps between students are closed.
- All students are ready for career and college.
- All students graduate from high school.
+ Approved the annual Achievement & Integration Progress Report for the 2016-2017 school year. The district is ending the final year of the 2015-2017 Achievement & Integration Plan. This plan is a joint effort required and allowed by Minnesota statute affecting MLPS, Jackson County Central and Windom Area. The report has been completed and submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education.
+ Learned information about two meetings held between School Perceptions, MLA, KA and Superintendent Bill Strom to begin work on a draft survey to test building project priorities and local tax tolerance. In the initial meeting, past surveys were discussed, along with the general direction this survey would need to pursue. During the second meeting, a draft survey was reviewed and revised. The survey is taking shape and requires more information before it receives a final review.
+ Heard from Mountain Lake Public High School (MLHS) Principal Michelle Larson with clarification and background on National FFA Convention expenditures recorded in the October bills payment report following her research into the matter.
+ Approved the Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Construction Manager, as Advisor Edition has been submitted for review.
+ Approved allowing the use of insured cash sweep (ICS) with United Prairie Bank as a program to manage the district’s financial accounts, with signatory powers to manage this program for the district given to Kim Naas, District Bookeeper and Bill Strom, Superintendent. ICS, a program created for financial institutions and used by United Prairie Bank, allows groups like the school district the option to manage the district’s financial resources in a more efficient and profitable manner.
+ Approved the following as volunteer basketball coaches:
- Paul Metcalf.
- Josiah Stoesz.
- Mitchell Schroeder.
- Karl Wassman.
- Steve Thiessen.
- Dan Hup.
- Nick Naxay.
- Andrew Hempeck.
- Beau Herrig.
- Tylor Duerksen.
- Ryan McCue.
- Slade Harder.
- Cody Klassen.
- Caleb Bargen.
- Aaron Fast.
- Levi Stoesz.
+ The following Met and Confer dates for year ahead include:
- 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, 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.
+ The next regular school board meeting will be Monday, December 18, 2017, at 5:30 p.m. in Room #1.