by Peg Craig
Contributing Writer
The St. Michael–Albertville School Board appointed former board chairperson Chuck Lefebvre to former chairperson Doug Birk’s vacant seat that expires Dec. 31.
The board also heard a report on the demographics of the district, and took action regarding an application for state funds to add an elementary school counselor.
VACANT SEAT
Because STMA School Board chairman, Doug Birk, resigned from the board to take the position of Director of Administrative Services with the district, his position was declared empty.
The seat will be filled by the election in November and the new director will start serving in January.
STMA Supt. Ann-Marie Foucault explained that state law requires the board to fill the seat for the last few months of this year. This can be done by application and interviews or by appointing a qualified person to serve.
The board members said that possible candidates for the school board election should not be considered as it would give an unfair advantage. At the suggestion of several directors, Supt. Foucault had approached former board member LeFebvre to see if he would be willing to serve in this temporary seat. Since he was willing to serve, the current board members voted to appoint him.
The board also decided to wait to elect a chairperson until after the new members are seated in January and appointed Vice-chairman Gayle Weber to serve as Interim chairman until then.
Interim chair Gayle Weber thanked Birk for his service on the school board and said that he has been a champion for the district working to bring it closer to equitable funding and that he has a legacy of thoughtful dedicated leadership.
Birk replied that it had been an honor to serve on the board for 10 years. He hopes that they will keep their focus on the kids and will send clear messages to the community about the direction of the district.
DEMOGRAPHIC REPORT
In other news, Supt. Foucault talked about the demographics of the school district as the new school year is about to begin.
New homes are being built in the district and are attracting families to the schools. The district is significantly younger than the state and the surrounding districts. For several years there have been more kindergartners than graduating seniors.
By 2020 the district is projected to have twice the population that it had in 2000.
Under open enrollment more students come into the district than go to neighboring districts. The Catholic school system is stable with about 70 percent of its students coming from the STMA district.
Schools are quickly reaching capacity and the board may have to review the policy of accepting any student requesting open enrollment. A new elementary through eighth grade school will be opening in Otsego in fall 2017 and may draw some students back to the Elk River District.
In response to an excess of kindergartners already enrolled for this fall, the board authorized the hiring of an additional teacher at the Albertville Primary School.
COUNSELOR GRANT
The school board also directed the administration to apply for funding for an elementary counselor under the Support Our Schools Grant program.
The position will be for six years with grant money matching district funds for the first four years. The grants will be announced in October and if STMA is included a counselor will be hired quickly.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other news, observers attending the meeting suggested that the proposed referendum be conducted along with the general election in November to save money and attract a larger turnout.
Board members replied that there isn’t enough time to get it ready by then. A listening session on the referendum is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 22, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Middle School West auditorium. The task force will continue to draft the proposal using the input after the meeting and hopes to be finished in October. They resist rushing the process in order to match the general election date.
In one last bit of news, discussions on changing school district boundaries will not take place until the Elk River District selects a new superintendent in 2017.