-LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT- MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING BEMIDJI AREA SCHOOLS FEBRUARY 22, 2021 The regular meeting of the Board of Education, Bemidji Area Schools, Bemidji, Beltrami/Hubbard Counties, Minnesota, was held on Monday, February 22, 2021, at 6:30 p.

Published March 17, 2021 at 3:01 AM

-LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT-
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
BEMIDJI AREA SCHOOLS
FEBRUARY 22, 2021
The regular meeting of the Board of Education, Bemidji Area Schools, Bemidji, Beltrami/Hubbard Counties, Minnesota, was held on Monday, February 22, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., in the District Office Board Room.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Jeff Lind, Ann Long Voelkner, Carol L. Johnson, Gabriel Warren, Sarah Young, Jeff Haack, and Superintendent Tim Lutz
Joel Roberts, Student Representative
Abigail Enquist, Student Representative
MEMBERS ABSENT:
CALL TO ORDER: 6:30 p.m.
PREVIEW OF AGENDA – SUPERINTENDENT TIM LUTZ
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The motion was offered by Carol L. Johnson, seconded by Jeff Lind, and carried by all in attendance to approve the agenda.
CONSENT AGENDA
The motion was offered by Gabriel Warren, seconded by Carol L. Johnson, and carried by consent to approve the following items:
A.Meeting Minutes from the January 25, 2021 and February 4, 2021 School Board Meetings
B. Current Bills & Special Checks Totaling: $2,977,278.20C.Noncertified Staff Resignation
D.Certified Staff Appointment
E.Certified Confirmation of Resignation
F.Lane Advancements
COVID-19 UPDATES
COVID-19 Updates
Superintendent Tim Lutz provided an update on COVID-19. COVID-19 numbers continue to drop. We will follow the Governor’s directives to bring secondary students back to school as soon as we are able.
Vaccine Partnerships
Jordan Hickman, Director of Human Resources, indicated the school district has been coordinating with the State, Beltrami County Public Health and Leech Lake Public Health to provide COVID-19 vaccines to district staff. Staff were surveyed three times asking for their interest in receiving the vaccine. Currently there are approximately 30 employees who are looking for an opportunity to receive the vaccine. More than half of our staff have received a vaccination.
Staff have been provided information regarding the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector, a tool that helps Minnesotans find out when, where, and how to get the COVID-19 vaccine. School employees will receive priority consideration through that website.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE REPORT
Joel Roberts and Abigail Enquist reported on Bemidji High School activities including: Student Council events, Student Voice Initiative, secondary students coming back to school, and the BHS band concert on March 15.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Ann Illies – Unmentioned cuts that could be made.
Kimberly Johnson – School closings and budget ideas.
LISTENING SESSION REVIEW
Gabriel Warren and Jeff Lind reported on the following Listening Session topics: Budget cuts, JROTC program at Bemidji High School, possible closure of Central Elementary School.
DONATIONS
The motion was offered by Sarah Young, seconded by Jeff Haack, and carried by all in attendance to accept the donations: $1,000 from Bemidji Steel Company for the Mechatronics Career Academy; $1,000 from Bemidji Bus Lines for the Mechatronics and Automotive Technology Academies; $2,000 from Howard and Darlene Schultz; and $500 from the Bemidji Elks Lodge 1052 to the McKinney-Vento program.
EQUITABLE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Class Size Report
Superintendent Tim Lutz reported on class sizes as recommended in SBR 400-30-1R: Class Size. There are no elementary or Bemidji Middle School classes that exceed the guidelines. Twelve out of 399 Bemidji High School sections exceed the guidelines. No action was taken.
Online Learning Update
Kyle McMartin provide an update on the exploration of an Online Learning Program. He shared the results of the survey sent to 693 distance learning students in grades 5-11. There were 179 responses and 62% of the students indicated they would be interested in full distance learning next year.
The timeline and next action steps include meeting with Minnesota Department of Education staff to learn more about methods of programming given our current data and viability conversation, enlarge the study group, and finalize program narrative for presentation and approval in April.
Summer School Update
Colleen Cardenuto, Director of Curriculum and Administrative Services, indicated the district is planning for summer school to be offered as it has been in the past for grades K-8 and high school credit recovery. The Minnesota Department of Education is providing training for school districts regarding possible extended summer programming to help kids catch up. We are awaiting information regarding funding for the program. No action was taken.
HIGH QUALITY DISTRICT
Organizing and Altering District Facilities
The motion was offered by Jeff Haack, seconded by Carol L. Johnson, and carried by all in attendance to realign the use of district facilities, shift where some programs will be located, and redistrict attendance boundaries for Central Elementary students to attend school in other neighborhood schools.
Budget Revision FY 2020-2021
The motion was offered by Jeff Lind, seconded by Jeff Haack, and the vote was carried by all in attendance to approve the FY 2020-2021 budget revision as presented.
Special Election Update
Krisi Fenner, Director of Business Services, provided information and an estimated cost of $50,000 for running our own special election for an operating referendum this fall. This does not include media awareness costs.
The community is starting to see the impact of a failed referendum. Sixty percent of the voters said no to the referendum last fall. She suggested surveying the community about a future referendum question and reconvening the referendum steering committee to discuss a special election this fall. No action was taken.
UPCOMING EVENTS
March Meeting – Monday, March 15, 2021, 6:30 p.m.
OTHER
Minnesota School Board Recognition Week – February 22-26, 2021
Ann Long Voelkner – MSBA Honor Roll 20 Years of Service
School Bus Driver Appreciation Week – February 21-27, 2021
Once Around the Table
School Board Members shared their observations of events in the district.
ADJOURNMENT
The motion was offered by Carol L. Johnson, seconded by Sarah Young, and carried by all in attendance to adjourn. Time: 8:56 p.m.
/S/ Sarah Young, Clerk/S/ Ann Long Voelkner, Chair
1 da: 3/17