Board OKs staff development reports

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The District 88 school board Thursday approved revised job descriptions for 20-plus positions, including clerical, custodial. counselor, and media jobs.

The changes were fairly routine, reflecting a switch to a new program to report student attendance and the resulting changes in staff responsibilities, explained board member Steve Wachter.

The board also changed the language to remove some requirements that were no longer part of the jobs and add new requirements.

The board heard staff development reports from middle and senior high staff members. The reports detailed what each of the buildings is doing to achieve the broad educational goals of the district. They listed initiatives such as utilizing student planners, opening up new channels of communication with parents and tracking incident trends to ensure that the school environment is safe.

The board unanimously approved the reports.

Budget

In an another action item, the board made small revisions to this year's budget. District Business Manager Donna Luhring explained that the budget revenues increased to $22.2 million, from the projected $21.8 million, partly because of slightly higher enrollment than was expected when the budget was made.

The expenditures were down from $21.8 million to $21.7 million, but no increases have yet been "built in" for "lane changes" (salary increases tied to years of service), said Luhring.

Also, the expenditure side has not yet been revised to address air quality issues -- apart from a $40,000 increase for legal fees, said Luhring. The cost of improving air quality, an issue driven by the discovery of mold in many parts of the school buildings, is not yet finalized, noted Luhring. She also observed that an originally budgeted special education position has not been filled, bringing expenditures down.

Wiger

leaving board

The board recognized the five-plus years of service of outgoing member Mark Wiger. Wiger, in turn, expressed his appreciation of his the chance to serve the school district.

Students recognized

The board recognized students Dustin Maday, Michael McDermot and Travis Long, whose scores in a national automotive competition earned them scholarships and also combined to earn a national award for the Senior High School.