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Superintendent has goal to maintain class size

By Brad Lowell

USD 333 Superintendent of schools Bev Mortimer last night told the board of education that, in these times of reduced state aid, her goal for next year is to not non-renew any teachers and to maintain class size at around 20 students in the primary grades.
“Until we know what health care insurance premiums for next year will be and until we know for certain what the legislature is going to do with state aid, we aren't going to make any hard decisions,” Mortimer said.
“We found out recently that the $54,000 carryover from the general fund that we transferred into the capital outlay fund can be returned to the general fund,” Mortimer said. “Also, some of the salaries for maintenance  can be paid out of the capital outlay fund,” she said.
Other cost cutting measures being studied are the reduction of one assistant coach in every sport and a reduction of professional development spending, Mortimer said. “I would rather cut one assistant coach across the board,  than eliminate a sport entirely,” she said.
Mortimer said that the district isn't going to receive any federal Race to the Top dollars and could lose $16,000 in state funding because of a bill introduced in the legislature which would preclude a district from receiving both low enrollment and high density at-risk payments. Currently, the district receives both, she said.  
One bill currently being considered would extend the years from 20 to 25 that a school district could keep a school bus in service, Mortimer said.
The board approved a recommendation by the superintendent that the Concordia Junior-Senior High School instructors be assigned to teach six classes, rather than the five currently assigned, and supervise an advisory period during the school day.
Mortimer said that move will improve efficiency, reduce some class sizes, and allow Career & Tech Education departments to increase course offerings. As required by the negotiated agreement with the faculty, the increase in the teaching load was approved by a vote of the faculty.
The board also approved the 2010-2011 school calendar which designates Aug. 16 as the first day of classes and May 19 as the last day of school.
The board adopted guidelines for independent educational evaluations conducted at the Learning Cooperative of North Central. The guidelines place limits on the amount of reimbursements to parents who obtain independent evaluations of their children, provided they are conducted by qualified examiners.
Approval was given by the board to sell a 1991 van, which no longer runs, at the Optimist Club auction.
An agreement was approved between the LCNCK and the district for reimbursement to the district of funds received by the learning cooperative for at-risk four-year-olds. The cooperative has four slots for the special education students who are being taught by a district instructor.
Mortimer reviewed changes to the curriculum handbook. The handbook needed updating and some revisions to align it with courses being offered across the state, she said.
After two 30-minute executive sessions, the board accepted the resignation of first grade teacher Joyce Swenson and approved a one- year extension to the contract of Mortimer.
The board also renewed the contracts without extensions of the other district administrators. Board president Chuck Knapp said that in no way is performance the reason that the other administrators' contracts were not extended. It's simply a reflection of the budget constraints that the district is under, he said.

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