December 20, 2021 at 7:30 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  All speakers are asked to complete the Listening Session Sign-in Form including as much detail as possible and including a printed / written copy of your presentation if one is available. This is an opportunity for the Board to listen, the Board will not engage in dialogue. As a general rule, the Board will not comment on or respond to any comments made by speakers. Please do not include names of Greenbush Middle River employees or representatives, their title, or location in your remarks for your own legal protection and the legal rights of staff.

Each speaker will have five (5) minutes to speak: speakers may not roll their time to another speaker. Speakers will be timed and are asked to complete their comments in this time frame. Board members may ask questions if needed.  Please begin your presentation by stating your name and topic only.
In the spirit of fairness to all participants, we request that you respect the format above. Thank you for taking the time today to attend this meeting and share your concerns and suggestions.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, members of the public may wish to email Board communication(s) to <info@greenbush.k12.mn.us>

Description:  Attached

Description:  Budget consists of 6 fund balances:

o  01 General Fund
o  02 Food Service
o  04 Community Services
o  07 Debt Redemption
o  08 Scholarships
o  09 Student Activities
• *see attached

Description:  Mr. John Lee was selected as Region 8 Nine-man Football Coach of the Year.  Congratulations!

Description:  Mrs. Stacy Dahl was named Section 8A Volleyball Coach of the Year.  Congratulations!

Description:  In mid-January 2022, Carrie Jo Howard will receive recognition from the MN School Boards Association for 20 years of service as a school board member.  Congratulations!

Description:  Congratulations to juniors Elizabeth Gust and Kai Melby, selected by faculty as our school’s nominees for the MSHSL ExCEL award. This award recognizes 11th graders who are in at least one MSHSL activity, are making good academic progress and contribute positively to their community and school.

Description: 

Congratulations to seniors Nathan Waage and Jacey Wojchowski, selected by faculty as our school’s nominees for the MSHSL AAA award. This award recognizes 12th graders who are in at least one MSHSL athletic activity, a MSHSL fine arts activity, and show academic excellence by maintaining a GPA of at least 3.0.

 

Description:  During the May 2021 regular School Board meeting, the Board passed a motion  to revert to pre-pandemic public attendance at School Board Meetings effective with the regular June 2021 School Board meeting.  The board discussion during the May 2021 meeting included an understanding to continue with audio/video streaming of meetings to have transparency of school board public meetings.
Since then, the audio/video streaming of meetings has been archived on the school's website.
The recommendation is to archive the audio/video streaming of the public meetings on the school website for a period of 30 days or until the previous board meeting minutes are Board approved.

Board Discussion 

Board Action:  Motion by Board Member ____________________ and seconded by ________________ to
 

Description:  The increase in the school taxes in payable in 2022 can be attributed to a school operating referendum approved by District voters during a November 2, 2021 Special School Election.

See attached Truth in Taxation presentation  

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT(S) FROM THE PUBLIC

Suggested Motion: Moved by  ________________ seconded by __________________to adopt the  2021 Payable 2022 School Tax Levy in the amount of $570,239.95.  The amount represents an overall school tax levy for Payable 2022 increasing by $134,229.18 or 30.79% over the previous year.  
NOTE:  This amount is an overall school tax increase and NOT reflective of an increase in each property owners' school taxes for payable 2022.,
Attachments: (1)









 

Description:  Motion by Board member __________________ and seconded by ______________ to approve employment of Mr. Gordon Barrett as a school custodian.

Description:  Four (4) School Board seats are up for election in November 2022.  (see attached)

I can't foresee this happening, but, if the Board chooses to run an election (eg:  Bond Facility) that is not part of State elections in 2022, the School District is responsible for all cost aspects (process, election equipment, election judges, protocol) of the election. 

Board Member _______________ introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption:

RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING COMBINED POLLING PLACES FOR MULTIPLE PRECINCTS AND DESIGNATING HOURS DURING WHICH THE POLLING PLACES WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR VOTING FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT ELECTIONS NOT HELD ON THE DAY OF A STATEWIDE ELECTION      

BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of Independent School District No.2683, State of Minnesota, as follows:      
 
1. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 205A.11, the precincts and polling places for school district elections are those precincts or parts of precincts located within the boundaries of the school district which have been established by the cities or towns located in whole or in part within the school district. The board hereby confirms those precincts and polling places so established by those municipalities.      

 2. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 205A.11, the board may establish a combined polling place for several precincts for school district elections not held on the day of a statewide election. Each combined polling place must be a polling place that has been designated for use as a polling place by a county or municipality.The following combined polling places are established to serve the precincts specified for all school district special and general elections not held on the same day as a statewide election in the calendar year following the adoption of this resolution: (Set forth each combined polling place explaining which precincts are being served, such as:)  
     
Combined Polling Place:                                                                                                      
Greenbush Community Center           Middle River Community Center          
244 Main St N                                     250 Hill Ave
Greenbush, MN  56726                       Middle River, MN  56737

Greenbush Community Center
244 Main St N
Greenbush, MN  56726

This combined polling place shall serve all territory in Independent School District #2683 located in the following Precincts within Roseau and Kittson Counties located in Minnesota: 

·    Kittson: CARIBOU TWP
·    Kittson: KLONDIKE UNORG
·    Kittson: PEATLAND UNORG
·    Kittson: PELAN TWP
·    Roseau: BARNETT TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: BARTO TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: DEER TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: DEWEY TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: GREENBUSH
·    Roseau: HEREIM TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: HUSS TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: LIND TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: MOOSE TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: JUNEBERRY/BLOOMING VALLEY UNORG 
·    Roseau: PALMVILLE TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: POHLITZ TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: POLONIA TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: POPLAR GROVE TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: SKAGEN TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: SOLER TOWNSHIP
·    Roseau: STRATHCONA 

Middle River Community Center
250 Hill Ave
Middle River, MN  56737

This combined polling place shall serve all territory in Independent School District #2683 located in the following Precincts within Marshall County located in Minnesota:

·    Marshall: CEDAR TWP
·    Marshall: COMO TWP
·    Marshall: EAST PARK TWP
·    Marshall: EAST VALLEY TWP
·    Marshall: HOLT TWP
·    Marshall: HUNTLY TWP
·    Marshall: MIDDLE RIVER 
·    Marshall: MOOSE RIVER TWP
·    Marshall: ROLLIS TWP
·    Marshall: SPRUCE VALLEY TWP
·    Marshall: THIEF LAKE TWP
·    Marshall: WHITEFORD TWP
located in Marshall County, Minnesota.

Note: See Section 2.3.2 of the Election Manual regarding changing polling places in the case of an emergency or if the polling place is no longer available.     
  
*3. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 205A.09, the polling places will remain open for voting for school district elections not held on the same day as a statewide election between the hours of 7:00 o'clock a.m. and 8:00 o'clock p.m.       
Note: See Section 3.6 of the Election Manual regarding certain restrictions on voting hours.  
     
4. The clerk is directed to file a certified copy of this resolution with the county auditors of each of the counties in which the school district is located, in whole or in part, within thirty (30) days after its adoption.     
 
5. As required by Minnesota Statutes, Section 204B.16, Subdivision 1a, the clerk is hereby authorized and directed to give written notice of new polling place locations to each affected household with at least one registered voter in the school district whose school district polling place location has been changed.  The notice must be a nonforwardable notice mailed at least twenty-five (25) days before the date of the first election to which it will apply. A notice that is returned as undeliverable must be forwarded immediately to the appropriate county auditor, who shall change the registrant’s status to "challenged" in the statewide registration system. (If a combined polling place is changed, the change must be adopted at least ninety (90) days prior to the first election where it will be used unless that polling place has become unavailable for use.)  ____________________________________ 

Note: A resolution similar to this model resolution must be adopted by December 31 of each year, and the combined polling places specified shall be the combined polling places for the following calendar year. 

The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by Board Member _____________ and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof:
        

and the following voted against the same: 

whereupon said resolution was declared duly Passed and Adopted /  Failed.





 

Description:  Principal Schultz will provide the required student achievement report to the Board.  In accordance with MN Statute, the 2020-2021 Combined WBWF Summary and Achievement and Integration Progress Report is posted on the school’s website. 

Suggested Board Action:  Moved by _______________ and seconded by ____________ to approve the Greenbush Middle River School District’s 2020-2021 World’s Best Workforce Report.    

 

Description:  The current Superintendent of School was employed by the GMR School Board in late June 2019 for the 2019-2020 school year as a part-time interim Superintendent.  With the on-set and continuation of COVID-19, an employment agreement was mutually extended to the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years.
  MN Statute 123B.143 requires a School District to employ a licensed school Superintendent:
excerpt:  All districts maintaining a classified secondary school must employ a superintendent who shall be an ex officio nonvoting member of the school board. The authority for selection and employment of a superintendent must be vested in the board in all cases. An individual employed by a board as a superintendent shall have an initial employment contract for a period of time no longer than three years from the date of employment. Any subsequent employment contract must not exceed a period of three years. A board, at its discretion, may or may not renew an employment contract. 

Moving forward, options for consideration of the GMR Superintendent position include:
-  Consider hiring full time Superintendent of School with or without Supt. Search assistance from MSBA and / or;

-  Consider hiring Superintendent as a part of a Sharing Agreement with a neighboring School District;

-  MSBA's Mr. Gary Lee plans to attend this portion of the Board meeting via Zoom to present an MSBA Supt. search proposal towards sharing a Superintendent position with the neighboring school district of Tri-County (Karlstad area).

- other: ________________________________

Board Discussion: 

    Consider:  See Agenda item 11.1.c  Request for future Work Session or __?___

Board Action:  Motion by Board member ___________________ and seconded by _______________________ to

Description:  The Child Nutrition Office within the MN Dept. of Education will be conducting a Review of the GMR School Nutrition Program on February 7, 2022,

This review is like many other reviews by various State agencies that include but are not limited to:

Annual Financial Audit
Special Education Audit
State Fire Marshall inspection
Dept. of Health Inspection
Boiler Inspection
Vehicle Inspection performed by MN Highway Patrol


 

Description:  It is / has been difficult to recruit non-licensed positions in the school for various reasons, most of which the district can not control.  However, one element within the District's control is compensation.

Employee Agreements for non-licensed GMR staff expire June 30, 2022.

Board Discussion:

Consider:  See Agenda item 11.1.c  Request for future Work Session 


 

Description:  The GMR School Board holds their regular monthly meeting the 3^rd Monday of each month.

There are restrictions to holding public meetings as per MN Statue.  Meeting restriction dates include the regularly scheduled January 17, 2022 (ML King Jr. Holiday) and February 21, 2022 (President’s Day Holiday).
Board discussion / decision regarding regular monthly meeting date in January 2022 and February 2022.

Motion by Board Member _________________ and seconded by _______________ to hold the regular January 2022 School Board meeting on January ____, 2022 and to hold the regular February 2022 School Board meeting on February ____, 2022.
 

Description:  The school’s parking lot is in poor condition. 

Roseau County is planning a road improvement project in the summer of 2022 just 3 blocks north of the school.  The project includes replacing the storm sewer and replacing the road (repave) and putting in pedestrian ramps and sidewalks.  While this effort is going on, the City of Greenbush is proposing to the landowners along this area to replace the city water line (one of its oldest water lines) along this three block area.

A consideration for the School District is:  Since there is paving work being done, why not "get in on" paving work to replace the school parking lot while the paving crew is just blocks away.  Doing so would recognize cost savings by replacing the school parking lot at the same time as the County is repaving the road.
The estimated cost for replacement of the school parking lot, driveway, and [existing] playground area is $130,000.  Likely "lumped into" this project would be  (1) building signage replacement;   (2) moving an existing propane tank; and (3) parking lot lighting.

The two methods to pay for the parking lot project are:
Long Term Facilities Maintenance and Abatement Bonds.
Annual approval for LTFM must be completed prior to July 31, 2022.  The estimated LTFM allocation in FY 23 is $149,000.

Board Discussion:

Consider:  See Agenda item 11.1.c  Request for future Work Session 



 

Description:  In September 2021, the BGMR softball coach approached the City of Greenbush about replacing the restrooms at the ball diamond.  The replacing effort as proposed by the head coach at the City Council meeting included the addition of additional facility features (eg:  Press Box and storage).

Board Discussion:

Consider:  See Agenda item 11.1.c  Request for future Work Session 

Description:  The Storage Shed [existing shed east of school] is in very poor condition.

Board Discussion:

Consider:  See Agenda item 11.1.c  Request for future Work Session 

 

Description:  Minnesota Statute requires the School Board to elect its officers for the new calendar year at its first  regular meeting in January.  The first regular meeting in January is sometimes referred to as an Organizational Meeting.

M.S. 123B.14 states, "On the first Monday of January of each year, or as soon thereafter as practicable, (ie:  next Board meeting in January 2022) the board must meet and organize ..." 

Board members will nominate and elect Officers including:  Chair, Vice-Chair, Clerk and Treasurer.
Board Approval during the January organizational meeting will also include:  
Designation of official depository for school funds;
Designation of the Law Firm (legal counsel);
Designation of dates for the Regular monthly meetings;
Committee and / or representative appointment(s)

 

Description:  COVID-19 became a world-wide health pandemic in December 2019.
As a result, from March 2019 to May 2020 Distance Learning for K-12 Public Schools was put into place by Gov. Walz executive order.

In 2020-2021, while most schools in MN were Distance Learning much of the school year, with the exception of a two-week reset period in October 2020 GMR was fortunate to have in-person learning throughout the school year.

To date, in 2021-2022, GMR is/has been in-person learning

At the onset of the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic, coronavirus was the prominent health concern... the coronavirus moved to the Delta Variant that is still with us now.  As of late, world-wide, the coronavirus has moved towards the Omicron variant.
        More transmissible
        Uncertain severity of symptoms
As per Roseau County Public Health, as of Dec. 20, 2021 no verified Omicron cases in Roseau County.  The Delta variant continues to be the prominent  virus strain.
===============================
For those who are unvaccinated, the Center for Disease control, the medical community and various other agencies (eg:  Public Health) are strongly encouraging vaccination and booster shots.   Other measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated people include masking, social distancing, getting tested.

Also recommended by Public Health à get the flu shot

 

Description: 

• Winter Concerts
• ExCELL Award (11th grade)
• AAA Award (12th grade)
• Athletic Award(s)
• Academic Activities (eg:  One Act, Knowledge Bowl, FCCLA, Art Club, Robotics, Yearbook and TARGET team.)
• National Honor Society Induction

Description: 
Motion by__________________        Second by ____________________ to ADJOURN

Description: 

• Regular January School Board Meeting - January TBD, 2022 @ 7:30 p.m. 

Description:  The increase in the school taxes in payable in 2022 can be attributed to a school operating referendum approved by District voters during a November 2, 2021 Special School Election.

See attached Truth in Taxation presentation  

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT(S) FROM THE PUBLIC

Suggested Motion: Moved by  ________________ seconded by __________________to adopt the  2021 Payable 2022 School Tax Levy in the amount of $570,239.95.  The amount represents an overall school tax levy for Payable 2022 increasing by $134,229.18 or 30.79% over the previous year.  
NOTE:  This amount is an overall school tax increase and NOT reflective of an increase in each property owners' school taxes for payable 2022.,
Attachments: (1)