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New faces were at Monday’s Albert Lea school board meeting, as Gary Schindler and Davy Villarreal were sworn in as board members.

Schindler and Villarreal replace Dennis Dieser and Jill Marin, neither of whom sought reelection after their term expired. In his last year, Dieser served as treasurer for the board. Along with the new faces, members were assigned to committees for the new year.

Neal Skaar was once again elected as chair for the board, while Kim Nelson will serve as vice chair. Dave Klatt was elected as clerk. Bruce Olson, who was not at the meeting, will be the board’s treasurer. Schindler, Villarreal and Angie Hoffmam will serve as directors.

Schindler, Klatt and Skaar will serve on the finance committee, while Schindler, Hoffman and Villarreal will be on the policy review standing committee. Olson, Nelson and Villarreal will serve on the facilities standing committee.

Skaar will once again serve as representative for the 1AA and Minnesota State High School League.Skaar, Hoffman and Schindler will be on the district curriculum committee, while Olson and Villarreal will serve on the Freeborn County Family Services Collaborative. Hoffman and Nelson will represent the Schools for Equity in Education Association, and Olson and Villarreal will be on the Teacher of the Year Committee. Nelson and Schindler will work on behalf of the board in business education, and Skaar and Klatt will represent the district in the Austin-Albert Lea Special Education Cooperative. Olson and Hoffman will serve on a committee to re-evaluate materials for the media center, which is a two-year term.

A new board meeting schedule was approved for the 2023-24 school year. All meetings will be at 5 p.m. the first and third Mondays of each month, with a few exceptions. The first meeting for the new school year will be July 17, and the first meeting in September will be Sept. 5. The Dec. 4 meeting will be at 6 p.m. following the truth-in taxation hearing, and January’s meetings in 2024 will be on Jan. 2 and Jan. 16. Feb. 20th’s meeting is also on a Tuesday.

The board designated Jennifer Walsh, executive director of finance and operations, to serve as deputy board treasurer, and Ashley Mattson, executive assistant to the superintendent and school board, as deputy board clerk. Sheila Riebe was designated as school district special education, federal programs and Elementary and Secondary Education Act authority. Walsh, Kaley Grisim, business services coordinator, and others as assigned under Walsh were delegated with the authority to make electronic transfers appropriate with documentation.