All speakers are asked to complete the Listening Session Sign-in Form including as much detail as possible and including a printed / written copy of your presentation if one is available. This is an opportunity for the Board to listen, the Board will not engage in dialogue. As a general rule, the Board will not comment on or respond to any comments made by speakers. Please do not include names of Greenbush Middle River employees or representatives, their title, or location in your remarks for your own legal protection and the legal rights of staff.

Each speaker will have five (5) minutes to speak: speakers may not roll their time to another speaker. Speakers will be timed and are asked to complete their comments in this time frame. Board members may ask questions if needed.  Please begin your presentation by stating your name and topic only.
In the spirit of fairness to all participants, we request that you respect the format above. Thank you for taking the time today to attend this meeting and share your concerns and suggestions.
Members of the public may wish to email Board [listening session] communication(s) to <info@greenbush.k12.mn.us>

01 General Fund
-   02 Food Service
-   04 Community Services
-   07 Debt Redemption
-   08 Scholarships
-   09 Student Activities
•-  see attached 

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Competition was held in the Twin Cities March 26-28.

Qualifying for National Competition in Denver, CO in July are:
Chance Christian
Meagan Otto
McKenna Bennett
Elizabeth Gust


 

The GMR High School Knowledge Bowl Team placed 2nd in State Class A Competition on April 14. 
State Knowledge Bowl Team Members are: 
Chance Christian
Vincint Stenberg
Honna Westlund
Tye Christian
Elizabeth Gust

Mrs. Mara Gust is the Advisor.

 

- $100.00 donation to First Robotics from Tom & Leatrice Kujava
- $500.00 donation to First Robotics from NW MN Manufacturing Association
- $500.00 donation to First Robotics from Titan Machinery
- $250.00 donation to First Robotics from Agassiz Insurance Group
- $50.00 donation to Restroom Project In Honor of Dale & Shellie Mekash from Carrie Jo Howard
- $10.00 donation to Baseball from Chad Billberg
- $500.00 donation to First Robotics from Karl Manufacturing Solutions
- $5,000.00 donation to First Robotics from Mike & Shellie Gust(Fidelity Charitable)

Motion by Board member ____________________ and seconded by ________________ to accept April 2023 donations to the GMR School. 

Board Discussion

The Greenbush Middle River School Board along with the Tri-County School Board will be sharing a School Superintendent effective July 1, 2023.  The two Boards formalized this sharing arrangement with the creation of a Joint Powers Board.

Additionally, both the Greenbush Middle River School District along with the Tri-County School District are seeking a K-12 Principal for their school.
To assist with a successful transition to new school administration, both the Greenbush Middle River School Board and the Tri-County School Board will separately participate in a School Board training session facilitated by the MN School Boards Association.  Greenbush School Board will participate in this training on April 19 in Greenbush.  The Tri-County School Board will participate in this training on April 20. in Karlstad.

Developing Mutual Expectations
Conducted in a retreat setting, this activity allows board members and administrators to develop ground rules or clear the air concerning the unwritten norms, behavior, responsibilities, etc., they have concerning how they work together as a team. This is an excellent activity for boards who are just beginning to work together, is in a pairing arrangement, or for boards who are undergoing some stress in their relationships.
This is essentially a process led by a facilitator rather than a content presentation. After establishing some minimal ground rules, members brainstorm all their ideas/expectations in a round-robin fashion. The facilitator then leads a discussion of each item.
The expectations to be explored can include any or all of the following:

• Board of Board
• Board of Chair
• Chair of Board
• Board of Superintendent
• Superintendent of Board
• Board of Other Administration
• Other Administration of Board

In the interest of transparency,  This Board Training is not an open meeting.  As per 2016 Commissioner of Administration pursuant to MN Statutes, School Board training as described above would not violate Open Meeting Law(s) if a quorum of the Board met with a facilitator in sessions designed to "improve trust", relationships, communications, and collaborative problem solving among Board members" if they are not "gathering to discuss, decide, or receive information as a group relating to "the official business" of the governing body."
 

At one time, there were numerous schools in Roseau County.  (See attached History of  Roseau County Schools.)

Many small rural schools dissolved and were consolidated.   The old school sites per se may have been sold, converted into a Town Hall, removed or even absorbed into adjacent farmland. 

For purposes of recording a good or clean state of title of "old" school property, the GMR School Board is confirming the sale of the "old" Strathcona School property by a previous school board in 1962.

Resolution Attached.

• The MN Legislature was on Easter Break from April 6 to April 11.

The legislature returned from its week-long break and now has six weeks left in the legislative session. This week, committees in the House and Senate have been advancing their omnibus budget bills and some budget bills have begun to be debated by the full House and Senate.

• Governor Walz "State of the State" address on April 19.
• May 22 is the last day of the 2023 Legislative Session.

Even with additional state funding anticipated, a number of MN School Districts are in the process of making budget reductions.

With DFL legislative majorities in the Minnesota House and Senate committing to $2.2 billion in additional school funding over the next two years and billions more beyond that, school leaders hope their budgets are about to stabilize. But even as school districts update their budget estimates to include additional revenue, many are still looking to make reductions. From rising inflation to declining enrollment to unfunded mandates, the issues straining school district budgets have not subsided.
 

Unemployment Insurance & Bargaining Expansion

School districts will need every penny of the new spending target to meet the mandated demands the DFL trifecta leadership appears locked into passing, including a plan to expand Unemployment Insurance to hourly staff who aren’t offered similar positions over the summer months. The Governor initially proposed direct payments to schools in his budget plan to pay the estimated $135 million per year cost of this expanded benefit. However, as the session progressed, the House and Senate budget plans dropped direct payments and instead simply mandated that schools pay for this out of their general funds. Additionally, the budget plans prohibit school boards from using the unemployment levy, as the legislature doesn’t want to be accused of increasing property taxes.

Other mandated employee benefits are found in the Paid Family & Medical Leave and the Earned Safe & Sick legislation, both of which would also come off the top of education dollars and increased employee contributions. Labor leaders contend the $5.5 billion spending plan will easily cover these costs, but district officials have noted existing steps and lanes or "roll-up" costs from current contracts and assumptions of salary and wage cost of living adjustments have yet to be factored into the mix, let alone health insurance premium increases.

Perhaps most concerning to school district officials is legislation that would require the ‘terms and conditions’ of local bargaining to include class sizes, student to staff ratios and student testing requirements. New staffing resulting from these bargaining changes, while perhaps needed to address educator fatigue, could drive district budgets close to the edge, if not over.

With all that’s possible, it’s an exciting time at the Capitol. While we see truly historic levels of funding on the table, anxiety levels are high as education leaders try to balance the many competing interests. And, this doesn’t even factor in desired changes to TRA.

Information Source:  MN Rural Education Association, MSBA  & Newspaper Article
 

High level of student engagement; a few high school students and a handful of young children did not complete their assignments. (Young children had folders with familiar activities and did not use electronic devices or platforms.)

All three (3) of the potential participating school districts have completed the necessary documentation.   Last week we heard from the Region 8A Secretary that their committee approved the BGMR-TC wrestling cooperative starting 2023-24.  The final step was submitting documentation to MSHSL for Executive Committee approval in early June.  Thank you to Badger & Tri-County A.D.s for assisting with this effort.
 

• Grateful for community volunteers John Harder, Jakob Heggedal and Dale Mekash who removed snow from the ball fields. The high spring sun dried fields pretty quickly, and other schools are coming to us because their fields are not ready.

• Our coaches, opponent coaches and AD’s, officials, parent concession workers - all are helpful and flexible with constant re-scheduling.  Everyone is working together to make things happen for our athletes.

GMR 1st Robotics Team advanced to World Competition in Houston, Tx.  Team members and mentors left today.  Follow the Blue Alliance, "Newton Division."

Three (3) GMR teams will be attending Enviorthan at Lake Bronson State Park on April 26.  Mrs. Burkel is the Advisor.

MSHSL Section 8 Art Show in Warroad April 14

• Nine (9) students participated in this event, some students entered multiple pieces of art.

• Excellent ratings; Superior medals

• Mrs. Lieberg is the district assessment coordinator who creates the schedule and helps staff get trained to monitor tests.

• Technology Coordinator Mr. Koebernick preps the computer network and devices in advance of "test season" to ensure that things run smoothly.

• Schools typically get their test results for public reporting in August.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  MCA - Mathematics - Grades 3-8 and 11
  MCA - Reading - Grades 3-8 and 10
  MCA - Science - Grades 3-8 and 10                      
  
  State Reporting by:                         
  
  Ethnic Group            Special Education
  Gender                      Free & Reduced       
  Meals                      
  Grade Level              English Language Learners
  Comparison by year
  
  MCA information source:  MN Dept. of Education.

• Reported at a recent professional development event: NCTC recently conducted a study showing that students who take College in the High School coursework face-to-face with their high school teachers (not on-line) have significantly higher academic outcomes than all other student groups.

• Currently the teachers qualified for CHS at GMR are Mrs. Kern and Mrs. Stacy Dahl

• Women of Today hosted an Easter Egg hunt April 8

• Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church hosted a concert open to all this past Saturday evening

 

Motion by__________________        Second by ____________________ to ADJOURN

• Prom - April 29           
• Regular May School Board Meeting - May 15, 2023 @ 7:30 p.m. in GMR School Library
• Bacculauratte - May 24
• Commencement - May 28