NRHEG SCHOOL BOARD
By REED WALLER
Staff Writer
“It’s been a while since we’ve done a big evaluation,” began NRHEG School Board chairman Rick Schultz Monday evening at the Media Center in New Richland.
He spoke to a group of about 15 guests plus faculty and administration, gathered to participate in a discussion of the improvements to school facilities the board has been considering for the coming years.
The meeting, following a similar meeting in Ellendale the previous week, was also attended by representatives from ICS Consulting and Wold Architects, who are working with the board to create an improvement plan for the district to address a number of issues, some of them of high priority.
ICS is providing facility assessment and analysis for the district and Wold Architects is providing preliminary suggestions for development.
Visitors heard a summary of problem areas currently hindering the district:
At both sites:
Deferred maintenance, which includes things like parking, signage; exterior work like the ongoing roofing project; interior work like painting, casework, hardware and ceilings; mechanical, electrical, and safety problems which are dealt with on an as-affordable basis.
At New Richland:
Science Lab outdated. Music area not functioning (poor ventilation, acoustics). Weight room undersized and inappropriate. Lack of adequate activity space – especially inadequate auditorium and gym.
At Ellendale:
Lack of secure entry. Additional classroom space needed for increase in enrollment, currently at capacity, and needs to be more differentiated (gifted, special). Need to add flexible learning space to provide for newer teaching methods. Music suite underutilized, not appropriate (designed for high school needs).
Monday’s open discussion was part of the process of making the creation of a development plan (using taxpayer money) open to participation by the public.
The consultants agree that both sites are in need of similar renovation, the main difference being that New Richland still has 50-year-old boilers.
Suggestions presented with accompanying plans included:
For Ellendale, adding an Administration area, replacing the mostly-unusable music area with four additional classrooms, and adding more classrooms elsewhere plus a centrally located Flexible Learning Area.
For New Richland, renovating the existing gym to be purposed more as an auditorium and Flexible Learning Area, and adding a new 2-½ station gym to the west of the existing structures.
After presentation the floor was opened to questions.
Do any of these plans have dollar estimates yet?
“Not yet,” said Schultz. “We want to keep you informed. I promise that before we ask you to approve anything, we’ll have an estimate ready.”
What kind of timeline is there?
“We’re looking at late January or February for another meeting,” said Schultz.
Why are we talking about this now?
“Three reasons,” said Schultz. “Because we have an advantageous financial position – the New Richland building has been paid off for some years, and Ellendale has just been paid off. We have no current facilities obligations. Also because our needs will continue to grow. And because timelines are required by the Minnesota Dept. of Education for action.”
What about parking in the new gym?
Parking does need to be developed. There are advantages for having the new competitive gym a distance from the rest of the facility – it can be separated from the school for events.
Several people spoke of the security problem of kids from other schools running through the school building after hours while there for a game.
How about community access?
Activities Director Dan Stork had some things to say about the current New Richland gym:
“As you know, we host a lot of games,” he said. “It’s difficult to host because of the small size. There’s very little perimeter. Often you have people walking on the playing surface. It gets wet when there’s snow. We’ve had to put seating on the stage, and worry about safety. There’s just not much room to move around in during play.”
There is currently about 800 seating in the bleachers, which are not current because newer bleachers have a bigger footprint than there’s room for.
“And something needs to be done about the sound,” added Stork. “The metal ceiling and the concrete floor, it’s very difficult to hear.”
One guest said “We had a yoga class in one of the classrooms. It was cramped, disappointing. It’s upsetting that we have to go somewhere else like Albert Lea to hold community classes.”
The gym usage was discussed. There is too much competition for the gym space. The schools have to split up the arts in order to have events – Concerts are K-2, 3-5, etc.
One parent mentioned that the cheerleaders have to practice at 6:00 a.m., because they can’t get gym time after school.
The plan would be to make the new gym the competitive one, and the existing gym would be geared more toward the arts than it is now.
Goodwin emphasized that the district was concentrating on additional gym space, not just auditorium space. Gym space is needed for all manner of sports and events at all levels. An auditorium is not a replacement for a gym.
Why is this all so important?
Our needs are expanding. Dr. Goodwin discussed the need to prepare for moving Pre-K to the Elementary. The State is now testing kindergarteners, and we must have the space for all year mandatory Pre-K.
When the elementary school is at capacity, even a slight increase in enrollment is going to cause a problem.
“If our facilities deteriorate too much,” said Schultz, “we risk losing what we have.”
Tax and Budget Hearing
Following the informational meeting, the district’s annual Tax and Budget Hearing (formerly Truth in Taxation Hearing) was held.
Tax levies are either voter-approved, locally approved or dictated by the state.
NRHEG had a voter-approved levy in place in 2010 of $454 per ADM (average daily membership), which was last year reduced to $424, the other $30 passing to a board-approved levy.
An increase in your real estate taxes does not necessarily mean the school is getting more money.
The Food Service Fund is actually making money. Last year the profits from the lunch program helped pay the salaries of cafeteria workers.
The district expects a three percent increase in budget forecast.
For FY14, the percentage of revenue from state aid was 84.56, from local aid 6.35, and from the Federal government 3.94.
The 2013-14 budget total was $10,872,841. The 2014-15 budget is $10,262,693, a decrease of 5.61 percent.
53.2 percent of that money was spent on salaries.
The board would be approving a $1,412,718.91 levy.
Regular Meeting
Students Ryann Hagen and Anna Stork reported to the board on their experiences with the High-STEP Health Science Program, online and in cooperation with Waseca Medical Center.
The 2014 payable 2015 Levy was approved as above.
The annual Organization Meeting was set for January 5 at 5:00 p.m.
Donations
Donations were received from: NRHEG PTO, $1,456.47 for teacher requests, and $4,200.00 for computers; New Richland Lions Club, $566.00 for Eagle Bluff; Tammy Busho-Daisy Blue, $1,042.40, and Kay Thibodeaux-Dove, $871.00, both for the Cheer Team.
Retiring directors
Bell Awards were given to departing school board directors John Harrington, Karen Flatness, and Lis Kormann, who were thanked for their years of service. The directors will be replaced on January 5 by JoAnn Maloney, Travis Routh, and Mark Tollefson.
The next regular meeting of the NRHEG Board of Education will be Tuesday, Jan. 20. The February meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 17.