The Albert Lea School District has turned in its final plans for Adequate Yearly Progress for the coming years.

AYP is determined by a series of state-mandated tests and aims to meet the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Superintendent Mike Funk told the Albert Lea school board Monday night that after a considerable amount of work the plans will be reviewed by the state. The district had to lay out its plans to meet the requirement that every child is 100 percent proficient by the year 2014.

“This is a federal requirement,” Funk said.

Funk also said that because of No Child Left Behind Act requirements Hawthorne and Halverson elementary schools will offer supplemental after-school tutoring for the first time. He said it’s a requirement the district offer the tutoring, but that children are going to businesses that offer tutoring. He mentioned he’s concerned that the businesses don’t have data to back up how they’re helping students improve.

“We’re competing with online tutors out of the Twin Cities and elsewhere that give kids laptops,” Funk said.

Funk then mentioned that the state will receive $45 million in Race to the Top funds to be used for early childhood education and asked board member Kim Nelson what her thoughts on the funds were. Nelson is the executive director of The Children’s Center. She said she was worried the funds will go mostly toward the Twin Cities and said she’s contacted local legislators about getting the funds spread out in greater Minnesota. She said all early childhood programs in Albert Lea, not just The Children’s Center, could use the funds to help children.

In other action the board:

• Approved the final levy for 2011-12. The district’s director of finance and operations, Lori Volz, said the board has discussed and learned about the levy at previous meetings, and this is the final step. The levy will increase 2.54 percent over last year’s levy. Volz has said before that the increase is a minimal one compared to what was first projected. The district’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning three-year upgrade project that will affect six buildings, could have had a greater impact on the levy if it weren’t for loans with low or zero percent interest rates.

• Heard from Albert Lea High School’s Activities Director John Double and seven female athletes who went to state tournaments recently. Double said not only were the girls competing at the state level, but the average GPA of the seven was more than 4.0.

• Heard from Director of Special Services Keith Erickson about the school district’s comprehensive Total Special Education System manual. He said recently all school districts have had to compile a manual with all state and federal regulations regarding special education and how they relate to individual school districts.

• Heard from board Chairman Bill Leland that he will not be seeking the chairman seat. He said the next time the board meets, at a workshop on Jan. 9, they will discuss who will fill which positions on the board. Member Linda Laurie said she’d be interested in the board chairwoman position, and member Mark Ciota said he’d be interested in the vice chairman position. The group will nominate and vote on the changes at the Jan. 9 workshop.

• Heard from Funk that there had been some concerns about backpacks at the high school for two reasons. One was that some students are bringing food and beverages in the classroom in their backpacks, and another was that backpacks are making the classrooms more crowded. Funk said it’s a student handbook issue that the board won’t address mid-school year, though there may be some discussion on it next summer.