FAIRMONT– The principals of the Fairmont Area School District were at the Fairmont School Board meeting Tuesday evening to give building reports.
Elementary co-principal, Michelle Rosen, said that one of the exciting things this year is the high number of early learners.
“We had so many preschoolers on a waiting list we got to add another section,” said Rosen.
She thanked the community for all of the work it’s done on pushing the importance of early learning.
Rosen also said it’s been nice having a new co-principal, Brian Grensteiner, working alongside her because he has a new perspective.
Grensteiner said one thing they’ve been focused on is the team leadership process. He said they’ve utilized some of their team leadership groups
“We’ve looked at how can we use their expertise and experiences to create and build on a school that’s already very successful,” Grensteiner said.
Board member Rufus Rodriguez asked Grensteiner and Rosen if there’s a plan to collaborate with the high school to make sure the elementary teachers know what the experience of the high school teachers is in relation to the students they teach.¥
Rosen said it is one of their goals and that they communicate with the principals at the high school during the cabinet meeting every week. She said they’ve aligned the professional learning calendar to be the same throughout the district so that it’s easier to make connections.
“Trying to do things more collaborate is really going to help,” Rosen said.
High school co-principal, Alex Schmidt, said that Chad Brusky wasn’t at the meeting because he was coaching a flag football team. Schmidt mentioned that one thing he likes about the staff in the Fairmont Ares School District is that they’re involved in the community beyond the classroom.
“Last week was homecoming week and if you know anything about homecoming, at the high school level, it’s a blast,” Schmidt said.
He said the events last week were all extremely well-attended and he thanked the student council and advisor Melinda Chambers for putting on a successful week.
Schmidt also talked about some goals at the high school level, which include a more intentional focus on the EL (English Learner) population; establishing building norms; grade level structures and communication.
Kim Niss, principal of curriculum, instruction and research, also gave a brief report. She said the main focus this year on curriculum is math. She also shared that just last week it was announced that math standards will be reviewed this year.
“The math standards were last revised in 2007. They were set to be reviewed in 2015 and 2016 and that date was pushed pack to this current year. Due to the last couple of years, they had really pushed back all of the revised disciplines,” Niss said.
Niss said right now through the Minnesota Department of Education, you can apply to be part of the math curriculum review committee. She told the board members that if they’re interested, they can apply.
“So it changes our plans a little bit… the biggest adjustment will probably come in the purchasing of materials,” Niss said.
Rodriguez asked about the importance of literacy in math.
Niss said there was a national conference that she once attended that talked about writing being the missing piece of math.
“Writing, that’s the only sense you have into the true thinking of a student is if they express their thinking in writing,” Niss said.
The board also heard a report from Superintendent Andy Traetow. He said that they’re two full weeks into the school year and enrollment has remained stable. He also gave a brief update on the vocational expansion project.
“We’re continuing in talks with our construction management group. The building permit came back with one minor adjustment,” he said.
Traetow said they’re still on pace to hold a ground breaking ceremony the week of Oct. 10.
He also gave an update on health and safety. He said they’re continuously monitoring the data and plan to give regular updates regarding Covid.
“Where we currently stand as a school district, at the elementary school we currently have five active identified cases of Covid and at the jr. sr. high school, we have 11 active cases,” Traetow said.
One week ago the total was 14 and after two full weeks, there are 16 active cases.
Moving to other matters, the board made a motion to approve the transfer of dollars to a committed fund for the vocational expansion project. Funds transferred included $25,000 donated by Kahler Automation in 2019 and $50,000 of the $70,000 donated by Jeff and Sue Greischar last month.
The board also heard from business manager, Chris Muhvich, who shared that the proposed 2021 payable 2022 tax levy is an increase of 8.32 percent.
Board member Nicole Green asked how much of the levy is due to Covid.
“I don’t see the covid pandemic really having an impact on this specific levy,” Muhvich said.
Board members Julie Laue and Dan Brookens wanted to make sure the public understood that Covid money isn’t just dropping into the district’s lap.
“These Covid funds… we have to plan things…. it’s not just money given to the district to be put in our general fund,” Laue said.
“There’s definitely a lot of pieces on the chess board when it comes to that. Just to make it clear to our constituents that they understood that this isn’t just…. walking out with a great, big check. This is a big process,” Brookens said.
In other news, the board:
— Accepted the employment of Kathy Kluver as a high school paraprofessional.
— Set the Truth in Taxation Hearing to be held after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14.
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