May 20, 2016 at 4:00 PM - Superintendent's Weekly Update to the Board of Education

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On Tuesday, May 10 we had a surprise OSHA inspection in response to an employee complaint.  Please see attached a letter from the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry.  The OSHA inspection resulted in no proposed citations.

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Please see attached Commisioner Brenda Cassellius's approval letter for our Long-term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) plan.

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We have a pre-construction meeting for the Royalton Elementary School at 2:00 PM on Thursday, May 26.  Winkelman is expecting to get started with demolition work on Tuesday, May 31.  Phasing of electrical, plumbing, general demo, etc. will be coordinated at the meeting.

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Dr. Gurbada emailed his elementary staff the below message - very cool!

Good morning:  I wanted to share positive comments made about our custodial staff.  Yesterday, as I was visiting with a sub, he wanted to let me know how good our building looks.  He said our school was "clean as a whistle" and "heads and shoulders above anywhere else I have been."

Thank you to our custodians for the all the effort that goes into keeping our building clean and attractive.  You are appreciated!

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Information from the Secretary of State:

A candidate for office must file an affidavit of candidacy with the clerk; in most cases, affidavits are completed, signed and signed by the authorized filing officer at the time of filing; however, some are completed before arriving. If so, affidavits must be signed, notarized and delivered in person or otherwise to the clerk during the filing period; absent candidates may follow the process listed in section 8.1 above;

Section 8.1 states:  If a candidate will be absent from the state during the entire filing period, the candidate may file an affidavit and any filing fee during the seven days immediately before the candidate leaves the state.  The candidate must state in writing the reason for being unable to file during the normal filing period. M.S 205A.06.

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Last summer, Mary inquired into advertsing an open employee position in the St. Cloud Times.  Brent Nelwan at the St. Cloud Times responded back with the folowing information:

"Thanks for your time today. Based on our conversation and the amount of ad text you have to include, a 3x3 display ad package is going to be your best option. Given you have multiple openings, a two or more day print run would be my suggestion. I’ve included a few options below.

3x3 display ad (includes color, logo, etc.)

·  Sunday SCT + Shopping News + 30-day Careerbuilder.com posting: $778.35
·  2 Sundays SCT + Shopping News + 30-day Careerbuilder.com posting: $1,111.17
·  3 Sundays SCT + Shopping News + 30-day Careerbuilder.com posting: $1,444.00

Let me know how you would like to proceed."

As you can see the cost to advertise in the St. Cloud Times is expensive.  The cost prohibits us from advertising with this source. 

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Gary Amoroso is the Executive Director at Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA).  He emailed us superintendents the below message yesterday afternoon.

Last week the U.S Departments of Education and Justice issued joint guidance to help provide educators the information they need to ensure that all students, including transgender students, can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex.  This guidance flows from Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.  AASA provided the following information.  Please take time to review the following material.  The section entitled “Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students”  might be beneficial to you and your district.

I've spoken to a few of you recently on this matter.  I know that this can be an emotional issue in your districts.  I have no doubt that providing a safe and nurturing environment for students is your number one priority in your district.  I know that you know that you have a responsibility to enforce federal and state law.  Your school board and community will look to you for guidance.  I recommend that you work closely with your legal counsel as you address specific situations within your districts.

In regards to this issue, the Departments of Education and Justice do provide some flexibility on how districts can proceed.  I have highlighted the section below that addresses this (see attached document).

I want to reemphasize the recommendation to work closely with your school district attorney.  As you have already seen, there will be legal challenges on this issue.  Over time the courts will provide guidance to us.  Please always remember, that we at MASA are here to assist and support you as you address these issues.

Thanks!

Gary A.

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Please see attached the weekly bills for your approval.