November 29, 2013 at 4:00 PM - Superintendent's Weekly Update to the Board of Education

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Please find attached separate notes Michelle and I took from our conference call with MSBA.  I'd like each board member to contact me with a date and time we can meet one-on-one.  I'd like to have dialogue with each board member about areas where we're doing a good job and others where we need to make some corrections.  Please let me know when you're available in the first two weeks of December.  

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Please find attached an email from Mr. Kunkel regarding REM negotiations.  The teachers would like to meet again before Christmas break and they want a better than average salary settlement. 

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A concern item board members and I shared at the Springsted/K-A/Worner meeting was the interviewing of school district employees.  Please find attached the survey Don Lifto put together for our review.  

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At the last meet and confer meeting it was mentioned the low number of available substitute teachers.  Joel's thought/solution to contact recent teacher applicants worked.  Kelsie told me we've had over 20 new substitute teacher applicants since that email was sent out.  This will definitely help us avoid the need to use teacher specialists (e.g., speech teachers, special education teachers, etc.) to fill in for elementary classroom teachers. 

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I've received a few questions about available gym space to community education girls and boys basketball teams.  Coaches are having difficulty scheduling evening and weekend times for their teams.  I visited with both Brent and Sara about the concerns.

Although the Elementary School Gym is not the most ideal place to have practice it is the most available gym court on nights and weekends.  Sara said the Elementary School Gym is available 4 nights during the week and all weekend.  She's told community education coaches MAP can schedule their one hour in the gym before or after their practice- like the cooperation and flexibility!

If you're hearing any rumbling there are options...just not the most ideal.  The Elementary Gym doesn't have the wood floor or good lighting.   

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BoardBook will be undergoing scheduled maintenance on the weekend of December 7th.  From 3:00 p.m. CST Saturday, December 7th  through 3:00 p.m. CST Sunday, December 8th, access to BoardBook will be unavailable for application administrators, compilers, and private viewers such as board members.

Meeting documents displayed to the Public View with BoardBook will continue to be available for the public during the maintenance period, except for about 15 minutes when we switch to a new server.

Please prepare for this lack of access by completing your meeting preparation in advance and, if appropriate, advise board members and staff who have BoardBook access.

Tim Curtis
BoardBook®

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A reminder to please bring 4-6 dozen baked goods to the regular board meeting on December 16, 2013.

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There are no weekly bills requiring your approval.