April 8, 2024 at 6:00 PM - Regular Meeting of the School Board

Discussion:  The Board of Education of Hermantown Independent School District No. 700 met in regular session on April 8, 2024. Chair, Heather Holst, called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M.

Discussion:  MEMBERS PRESENT: Lindsay Clauson, David Hokanson, Heather Holst, Ashley McFarland, Matt Munger (absent), Tim Peterson, Wayne Whitwam, Superintendent, Lance Takkunen, Director of Business Services  

VISITORS: Sarah Turcotte, Nicole Minnehan, Jason Wilcox, Mike Pothast, Bill Wietman, Gretchen Appelwick, John Muenich, Sadie Kukowski, Julie Lenz, Heather Hren, Lindsay Beier, Lori Sinnott, Mike Sweeney, Eric Borndal, Shawna Jokinen

Discussion:  Appelwick. Thanked parents and guardians for attending conferences and teachers for their preparation. Thank you to Lisa Ball for the very successful book fair. She takes the time to help every kid find a book they will like. Total sales for the Book Fair were over $12,000 dollars, which means the elementary has about $6,000 to spend at Scholastic on new books. We also appreciate the support from parents for the Book Fair. 
Wietman. Recognized the Middle School Students of the Month - Jimmy Sweeney (5th), Jack Mesdahl (5th), Ellie Pedisic (5th), Chloe Privette (5th), Kenzie Davis (6th), Scarlett Carlson (6th), Violet Kalm (7th), Lily Erickson (7th), Cece Loken (8th), Olivia Besserud (8th). Thanked Dr. Muenich and the middle school staff for their work in getting ready for MCAs.  
Muenich. Congratulated two students who received Ivy League Book Award recognition, including Elyana Hewitt (Yale) and Campbell Amundson (Dartmouth). Recognized first-year head coach Marissa Stifter and the Hermantown Speech Team for sending three students to the state tournament - Elyana Hewitt, Izzy Lampi and Caitlyn Cox.
Whitwam. Recognized the district paraprofessionals as part of Paraprofessional Recognition Day last week.  
 

Discussion:  No Visitor Business. 

Discussion:  No Correspondence. 

Discussion:  Mike Pothast presented on the new science curriculum, TWIG, that will be ordered for next school year for grades K-8. This curriculum will be on a five-year cycle.

Discussion:  Down four students since the last meeting. Gave an update on the open enrollment process.   

Discussion:  Natalie Zeleznikar is trying to get a CTE Consortium between Hermantown, Proctor, Esko School Districts. There would be a coordinator hired between the three districts.
McFarland visited the Capital and the main takeaways were: READ Act moved forward with the LETTRS program. Trying to get reimbursement retroactively for forward-thinking districts. 67 unfunded mandates last year and would like to have less of those going forward. SRO bill has come to an agreement. Seat time: how we are interpreting seat time. Clarity on flexibility for hybrid learning.  
Current food service budget only allows for funds to be used in the kitchen. Looking for permission to invest in a cafeteria remodel and/or tables.
Four-day school weeks was another big push. State is forcing MDE to open back up for applications for consideration for four-day school weeks. 

Discussion:  HAHA is paying for the relocation of the condenser from the West side of the building to the East side of the building temporarily before construction begins. Fredenburg Township would like to get the old boards from the two outdoor rinks.  

Discussion:  Ideally, we would get a new elementary school at some point. This would be a complete assessment of the current elementary for the next 10 years. Get a bid for how much it would cost, then bring it to the Board for approval. Would it last 10 years?  

Discussion:  No Committee Reports