Compromise comes for 2015-16 and 2016-17 years

After a nearly three hour-long meeting, the Albert Lea School Board compromised on calendars for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.

The board voted 5 to 1 for a traditional, post-Labor Day calendar for 2015-16 and a pre-Labor Day start calendar for 2016-17.

The board looked at two calendars: a calendar with a pre-Labor Day start and a calendar with a post-Labor Day start.

Chairman Mark Ciota called for a vote six times; three for the pre-Labor Day calendar and three for the post-Labor Day calendar. The vote was split three to three each time, meaning no majority was reached and the vote failed. Ciota said he did not want to leave that night without approving a calendar.

The board members discussed their reasoning throughout the meeting. Board members Julie Johnson, Jill Marin and Dave Klatt voted for the post-Labor Day start and Ciota and board members Bill Leland and Linda Laurie voted for the pre-Labor Day start.

Marin said she could see pros and cons to each calendar, but the main issue for her was it was too late to implement an early start for the coming school year. She said many families have already made plans for the summer, but she would be open to considering an early start calendar another year.

Leland said he supported the pre-Labor Day calendar because he wanted to get the first semester finished before winter break. He noted that he spoke with many teachers and administrators who said the pre-Labor Day start would be ideal.

Johnson said no calendar will ever be perfect and some people will like one better than the other. She said she saw the benefits of the pre-Labor Day calendar but continued to go back to what she felt the community was saying, which was a desire for a traditional calendar.

Laurie said she apologized that the calendar process wasn’t the best from the start, but said it was a learning situation and she worked with what she knew at the time. She echoed Leland’s statements and said she had heard teachers wanted a pre-Labor Day start as well.

Klatt said he talked to many teachers and students and asked a lot of questions, and said there was no definite answer. Like Johnson, he said he saw the benefits of both. He stressed there are no winners or losers, but he wanted to see the community heal and to go forward with the right attitude.

After the calendar vote failed six times, Superintendent Mike Funk presented two new calendars to the board for consideration, one of which he prepared in case there was a split vote.

While the school board was originally looking at a 2015-16 calendar, it was mentioned that the board usually approves calendars for two years instead of just the next year. Ciota also said he would be interested in a compromise with a post-Labor Day start for 2015-16 and an early start for 2016-17.

The 2015-16 calendar Funk presented started a week before Labor Day, putting the start date Aug. 31. There were no snow days built in and school finished on June 2.

The second calendar Funk presented for 2016-17 started 11 days before Labor Day, which is Sept. 5, 2016. It ended on May 18, 2017, with a week at the end of the year saved for snow days. Funk said if the Legislature doesn’t approve any bills that allow schools to start before Labor Day, the board would have to revisit the early start calendar in the future.

Both calendars had a week off for spring break and Good Friday off.

Ciota and Marin said they didn’t like the 2015-16 calendar Funk proposed as the early start didn’t contribute to the first semester finishing before winter break. However, Ciota said he would be willing to approve the original post-Labor Day calendar for 2015-16 and Funk’s pre-Labor Day calendar for 2016-17.

Johnson said she would also be willing to compromise. Marin said she thought it would give people enough time to plan for the summer of 2016 with their day care and vacation plans.

Johnson motioned to approve the original post-Labor Day calendar and Funk’s pre-Labor Day calendar, and Marin seconded. Laurie, Klatt, Marin, Johnson and Ciota voted yes and Leland voted no.

In other news, the school board:

Listened to the superintendent’s update. Funk congratulated the Albert Lea wrestling team for their second-place state finish and Garrett Aldrich for his second first-place state win. He continued to detail a trip he took with Laurie to the state Capitol to talk with senators and representatives about alternative facilities bonding and all day every day preschool.

Listened to the student school board member report. Gabe Minear said he and Quinn Peterson had approved all of the students they needed to the social media guidelines taskforce and said they are still looking for adults to be in the group.

Listened to school board member reports. Laurie said she had a great experience in the Capitol with Funk. She also said she read at the schools for Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Klatt also read for Dr. Seuss’s birthday and commented that the science fair over the weekend was fun to see. Marin said she enjoyed judging the science fair, and also read for Dr. Seuss’s birthday.

Listened to a district reading update by Mary Jo Dorman. Dorman said Halverson Elementary School second-graders went to City Hall to designate Monday as Read Across Albert Lea Day with the mayor. She also talked about the reading program and its curriculum. Dorman said she is pleased with the reading program in the district and gave many examples as to its success. One of the things the schools do is send home books with kindergarteners and first-graders. Dorman said the cost of replacing the books sent home was $180. She also said the school has two grants to get free books. One, from Disney, was granted because the school works closely with the city and library. Another is from Mo Willems, who is a children’s book author, and Willems sent the school 600 free books. Dorman closed by introducing the summer reading event at Albert Lea Public Library, which will be May 19 and 20.

Approved an item for the Hawthorne exterior wall restoration project. Deputy Superintendent Lori Volz presented a bid from Masonry Restoration for $253,600, and suggested the board accept the bid.

Approved the 2015 amended budget, which was presented by Volz.

Approved the start of a process to reduce programs and positions. This item was brought forward by Jim Quiram, director of technology and human resources.

Listened to a human resources staffing update from Quiram. Quiram outlined the number of days teachers are taking off for both district directed and teacher choice absences. He said if the number of days keeps increasing with the same number of substitute teachers in the sub pool, there could be issues.

Approved three policies looked over at the last meeting. The policies were the Family and Medical Leave Policy, Harassment and Violence Policy and Mandated Reporting of Child Neglect Policy.