Upsala School Board Proceedings
Wed, 03/06/2024 - 10:14am
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Upsala Area Schools
Upsala, MN 56384
UNOFFICIAL MINUTES
(A full text of the minutes is available for public inspection at the District Office, or available on the District Website)
Minutes of the regular meeting of Upsala Area Schools, Independent School District No. 487, held on February 28th, 2024. Present were Chairperson Peterson, along with board members Wensmann, Roerick, Harren, and Klasen. Also present were Superintendent Capelle, Principal Klug, Activities Director/Business Manager Zimmerman, and Building Manager Harren.
Motioned by Wensmann, seconded by Harren to approve the agenda. M.C.U.
Motioned by Peterson, seconded by Roerick to approve the minutes of the January 24th, 2024 regular board meeting and the minutes of the January 31st, 2024 special board meeting. M.C.U.
Motioned by Harren, seconded by Wensmann to approve the bills in the amount of $1,111,011.04. Bills paid with check numbers 25391 to 25506. Also approved the cash balance report and journal entries as presented. M.C.U.
Principal’s Report: Highlighted students of recognition for the previous month. Senior High Large Band contest will be held on March 5th in Albany. Junior class will be taking the ACT test on March 12th. Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on March 21st and March 25th from 3:30 to 7:00. Kindergarten Round Up will take place on March 1st. This week is FFA week, students are participating in dress up days and different contests.
Noah Bockermann and Brooke Opatz have been selected as Upsala’s Students of Character for the school year. This award is sponsored by Sourcewell and goes to students who are quiet leaders and do things behind the scenes. Grace Rahn and Jacob Drimel have been selected as Upsala’s Educators of Excellence for the school year. They will be honored at a banquet in Brainerd on May 1st.
Upsala Area Schools is now a certified Level One School according to Marzano’s High Reliability Schools Network. It shows that Upsala creates a safe and collaborative environment within the school.
Activities Director Report: Provided a winter sports update, which included the girls’ basketball team earning the No. 4 seed in their section tournament, the boys’ basketball team earning the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in their section tournament, and wrestler Brandon Mugg earning his second consecutive trip to the individual state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center. Also noted that junior basketball players Dakota Soltis and Jack Primus each eclipsed the 1,000 point-mark in their careers this past month.
Discussed spring coaching and advisor positions, which had two new additions in the lower levels of the baseball program and a new head coach in clay target. Also discussed participation numbers in each school-related activity.
Building Manager’s Report: Light-motion sensors were installed in the locker rooms and weight room to cut back on unused electricity. The gym light rebate came back from the new light project, the amount coming back is $3,881. The next project would be for LED lights to be installed in the library, art room, and science room to cut back on wattage usage. The estimated cost would be $6,000, which would be funded through the LTFM funds. The school has used less LTFM funds this year than in years past, making this a possibility to do as soon as possible.
Superintendent’s Report: Final revisions being made to the FY24 Budget, plan to present for approval in March. There will be reductions in revenue and expenditures. The Line of Credit through Stearns Bank has been paid off, have now transitioned the cash flow to the lower interest rate Aid Anticipation Certificates.
Will be meeting with architects on LP tank placement and working on a design for the LP secondary fuel system. There is a draft for next year’s 2024-25 school calendar. A change has been made to PD days, instead of early releases for students once per month it will transition to a late start. The rationale is to help increase staff training time for the incoming READ Act. Students who won’t have supervision in the mornings of these late starts will have the Cardinal Club as an option for childcare.
The phone/paging system upgrade has been completed. There is a tentative agreement in place for certified staff negotiations.
New Business:
Motioned by Roerick, seconded by Peterson to adopt the 2024-2025 school year calendar as presented. M.C.U.
Motioned by Peterson, seconded by Wensmann to approve the Spring coaching/advisor assignments as presented. M.C.U.
Motioned by Klasen, seconded by Harren to close the meeting to discuss certified staff negotiations strategy. M.C.U.
Motioned by Harren, seconded Roerick to reopen the meeting. M.C.U.
Motioned by Peterson, seconded by Klasen to adjourn at 9:05pm. M.C.U.
Stephen Roerick, Clerk
M6C
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