1.A. Call to Order

1.B. Pledge of Allegiance

1.C. Agenda

1.D. Recognition of Visitors and Public Forum

1.D.I. Presentation by Northwest Talent Academy-Gifted and Talented

 

1.D.II. Presentation by Dylan's Hope

2. REPORTS

2.A. Superintendent's Report

1.  Fall Staff Development was very successful throughout the district and within each building.  Many staff members expressed to me that they appreciated bringing in Erin Walsh from the Spark and Stitch Institute.  Erin did a great job with discussing student motivation with our staff.  It was great to have a pretty normal week of staff workshops.  Prior to all staff returning, our teacher mentor program, led by Minda Anderson, was held and involved a number of introductory lessons on district initiatives with our new teaching staff.  In addition, our community was introduced to new staff through our August Chamber of Commerce meeting.  

2.  Minda Anderson and I attended the HD15B meeting on Wednesday evening at KJ's Refuge.  Betsy Armstrong spoke, as did Jim Neuberger and Representative Shane Mekeland.  

3.  MSBA’s 2021 survey of school districts shows 34 districts will be asking voters for help with building projects and capital project levies at the general election on November 2. Of those 34 districts, 11 questions will ask for capital project levies for technology.
Another 42 school districts will be asking for operating levy funding. Of those 42 requests, 12 districts are simply asking to renew current operating levies.
The 51 bond and capital levy questions so far this year (through November) are much higher than the 23 questions that went to voters in 2020, but 2019 still holds the record with 63 districts asking for bond or capital levy projects.
?The 42 operating levies this year are also much more than the 33 levy requests in 2020 and almost as many as the 45 requests in 2019.

4.  As one of these 34 districts, Becker Public Schools have kicked off their informational campaign for the upcoming November 2nd election.  A large amount of information is on our referendum website www.BulldogsStrong.com .  I encourage everyone to follow Becker Public Schools on Facebook and/or Twitter or to visit the website.  We will be holding an open house meeting on Tuesday, October 12th from 5:30-7:00 pm in the High School Commons.  Absentee voting begins on Friday, September 17th.  You can request a ballot by stopping into the District Office during business hours or emailing Angela Oswald at aoswald@isd726.org or you can visit www.BulldogsStrong.com for more information.

5.  Moses from MN Family Council will be presenting at the October regular board meeting.  MFC is a non-partisan organization dedicated to strengthening family.  The information presented will be informal and similar to the presentation by Outfront MN.

6.  I had the pleasure of being invited to the Becker All School Reunion last week at Pebble Creek Golf Club.  It was a wonderful opportunity to see graduates from the 1940's through today.  They are a wonderful group that has done great things to lay the groundwork for the success and opportunities our children have today.

2.B. Committee Reports

2.C. Board & Administrator

3. CONSENT AGENDA

3.A. Minutes

3.B. Financial Report

3.C. Disbursements

3.D. Personnel

I recommend approving the personnel items as presented.

3.E. Transportation Contract 21-22, 22-23, 23-24

I along with the transportation negotiations committee (Aaron, Sarah, Ryan) recommend approving the transportation contract as presented.  The final percentage increase is 2.58%

3.F. Fundraisers


The fundraiser applications that were approved and the fundraiser amounts are presented.  Policy 511 states that, "The superintendent shall report to the school board, at least annually, on the nature and scope of student fundraising activities approved pursuant to this policy." 

3.G. Resolution:  Health and Safety

Working with MSBA, This resolution approves the school board to provide Superintendent, Jeremy Schmidt to make decisions that may need to be done prior to a regular board meeting due to constant and potential quick changes within the COVID-19 Pandemic.  
I recommend approval of this Health and Safety resolution. 

3.H. Truth-in-Taxation Hearing:  December 6, 2021, 6:30 PM

Minnesota's Truth in Taxation Law requires school districts to provide a public hearing before adopting a tax levy for the following year.  This meeting must take place between November 25th and December 28th of 2021.  I recommend holding the annual Truth in Taxation meeting during our regular meeting on December 6th, 2021 at 6:30 pm.

4. GIFTS

Policy 706 Acceptance of Gifts permits the school board to accept donations or gifts under the terms of the policy.  I recommend accepting the gifts as described on the enclosure.

5. HEALTH INSURANCE RECOMMENDATIONS


I, along with members of the insurance committee, recommend approving the insurance increase and rates proposed.  

6. GENERAL FUND TRANSFER

The transfer of funds is due to a shortfall in revenues in three areas.  Kevin Januszewski and I recommend approval of the transfer of $75,000 to School Readiness, $6,000 to Early Childhood Screening and $30,000 to Community Education from the General Fund (Retroactive to June 30)

7. FIRST READINGS

MSBA typically recommends policies from the latest legislative changes.  The following policies are updated by MSBA and recommended revisions to align with new laws passed by state and federal government.  We have not made changes to the following policies for some time and MSBA has updated them multiple times since our last updates. 

Policy 102, Equal Educational Opportunity adds contact information as directed by MDE;

Policy 406, Public and Private Personnel Data updates definitions, clarifies information about applicants, and re-aligns some provisions;

Policy 413, Harassment and Violence, updates language and aligns with Minnesota Statutory Law;

Policy 501, School Weapons Policy, adds language to definition of 'weapon' to align with MN statute, adds referral to law enforcement, clarifies provisions on p. 3, and revises citations;

Policy 524, Internet Acceptable Use and Safety Policy, revises policy to reflect recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Mahoney, and updates citations.  I recommend these first readings.  School board action is not required.

8. NOVEMBER SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

9. PRELIMINARY LEVY 2021 PAYABLE 2022


The levy certification documents for Minnesota's public schools have been issued.  

The first "levy run" typically contains errors.  Kevin Januszewski will work with MDE to correct the calculations over the next few weeks.  He will review the preliminary Payable 2022 levy information at the school board meeting.  

The Pay 22 Preliminary Levy is comparable to the Pay 21 Levy, with a slight decrease possible.  I recommend approving the maximum preliminary certification.  

A presentation covering the 21-22 budget and the Payable 22 Levy will be provided during the December regular board meeting.  The final levy amount will be approved by the board at that time.

10. RESOLUTIONS:  MSBA DELEGATE ASSEMBLY

11. CLOSED SESSION:  DISCUSS NEGOTIATIONS

12. ADJOURN