Hanska

Charter

School

dismisses

director

Community determined to look forward, make school a joint effort

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

HANSKA -- The Hanska Charter School Board of Directors called a public meeting Thursday to consider the school's future, after deciding Monday to immediately discontinue the services of Director Dan Ragan.

While strongly emphasizing the need to look forward rather than delve into the past, several board members informally cited the accumulation of negative feelings and incompatibility among Ragan on the one hand, and staff, board and community members on the other, as the reason for ending Ragan's contract.

Board members also said that while a formal strategy has yet to be mapped out, the school will be run as a cooperative effort for the remainder of the year. No replacement will be appointed for Ragan.

Teacher and board member Bill Butler, who informally led Thursday's discussion, invited the 30 or so people at the meeting to suggest ideas for the school's future.

The participants appeared to agree that the school's main task is to boost enrollment. With around 30 students in three mixed-age classes, preschool to 5th grade, the school faces a potentially uncertain future. Start-up federal and state money are expected to run out this June, and research quoted at the meeting suggests that an elementary school needs about 50 students to remain viable based on basic state funding.

Teachers and parents agreed that serious work needs to be done to recruit students. While bringing back students who have left the school might prove hard, the community can tap into a pool of younger preschool children, speakers said. The speakers agreed that this may be a difficult, door-knocking effort. The community also needs to promote the school to neighboring communities, showing off student achievements, distributing fliers, and using media channels and opportunities like Hanska's annual Syttende Mai celebration, speakers said. Several teachers and parents stressed the need to focus on the school's unique assets -- its very low student-teacher ratios and its strong music and arts curriculum.

Another issue raised at the meeting was the uncertainty surrounding sponsorship. According to state law, a charter school needs to be sponsored by a school district or another academic institution in order to exist. While not directly financially responsible for a charter school, a sponsor provides financial and program oversight. Hanska's current sponsor, New Ulm's District 88, is only committed to sponsorship for the current academic year. Hanska board members said they have yet to seriously explore sponsorship possibilities.

But board members also sought to assure the public that the school has never been in a better shape to face challenges. The staff is unified, the curriculum is strong, and the community has a chance to truly take charge of the school, said Butler, board member Brenda Blackstad and several others.

The board, made up of teachers and parents, will hold a working meeting Monday to start developing a more specific "game plan," Butler said.