Advertisement
The board was set to vote on reauthorizing an agreement with the union to allow a co-president to use half of each school day for union business, with that time reimbursed by the union. The vote was postponed when some board members said they wanted more information about what work has been done by the union to improve relationships with the district, a stipulation that has been in similar agreements that had been in place the past two years.
Board member Vicki Englich said she wanted some sort of written or spoken report from Bruce Ramsdell, the union co-president who has had half-time release the past two years.
“Before I can make an informed decision as to whether or not I can vote in favor of additional time off, I am very interested in hearing from Mr. Ramsdell,” Englich said.
Board member John Goplen said district Superintendent Paul Durand should also present his own report to the board about what conversations he has had with the union consist of, and if progress is being made in a relationship that has resulted in 12 grievances being filed by teachers against the district this year.
“I don’t even know what you’ve been talking about the last two years specifically,” Goplen said to Durand. “What are you working on, and how is it going?”
Durand said he had met with a union representative earlier that day for over an hour, and that it was a positive conversation, but didn’t offer specifics on what the conversation pertained to.
The board decided to postpone voting on the agreement until its next board meeting on Sept. 18.
Significant cuts possible
District director of fiscal affairs Jeff Seeley told the board that kindergarten enrollment is much lower this year than what was expected. Current enrollment for this year’s kindergarten class is at about 190, down from previous estimates of 225.
Seeley told the board that because the district is already deficit spending this fiscal year, the low enrollment will cause the district to further eat into its fund balance.
“We are expecting that deficit to grow fairly significantly, and we will need to seriously consider some significant cuts,” he said.
Nolan Rosenkrans may be reached at (507) 453-3519 or at nolan.rosenkrans@lee.net.
