Transferring to coordinate ECFE program

By Robert Williams

Editor

Frazee-Vergas School Board Chairperson Kimberly Antonsen made an emotional farewell to the school board at the conclusion of her last meeting on Monday, Aug. 12.

In August, the school district announced that Antonsen would be hired as the Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) Teacher/Coordinator. The school board approved the hire last month and unanimously approved her resignation from the board on Monday prior to the school year beginning.

Antonsen had difficulty reading the agenda announcing her resignation, effective Aug. 14, and the roll call vote, which was unanimously approved with Antonsen abstaining.

Above and Beyond 

The second grade teaching team of Markay Larson, Shana Schwan, and Caitlin Breitenfeldt were honored with the 2024 Above and Beyond Team award from Frazee-Vergas Elementary School Principal Travis Nagel.

“They’re here because of the great work they did with our second graders this year,” said Nagel. “They really worked closely with our interventionists and our paras focusing on their assessments of those students and seeing where they are at academically and providing strong intervention curriculum to get them up to speed.”

According to school data, 97 percent of those second graders were learning at or above grade level, said Nagel.

Larson spoke on behalf of the trio, thanking the intervention team for being open to what the teachers had envisioned and to Nagel for scheduling and providing the support staff.

High school

High School Principal Jason Smith announced a few changes for students to be aware of for the coming school year. 

The district office area and that end of the building will be closed until 8 a.m.

The emphasis on locker usage and it being the primary storage area for students is continuing this year. 

“We’re done with giving keys to kids to run into the locker room and grab their car keys or their cell phones,” Smith said. “We’re just not doing that. Your locker is your locker and your gym locker is your gym locker and we’re going to really stand tall on that this year.”

The cell phone policy will again be adhered to this year. Before any changes are going to be made, Smith wants to enforce the rules that are on the book and see how that goes. 

Every district is mandated to have a cell phone policy.

Cell phones are to be kept out of the classroom and not to be seen in the halls, passing time, lunchtime, before and after school.

Students are allowed to have phones in classrooms if by a teacher’s request for an assignment. Phones can be checked at other times, for instance, while a student is at their locker.

Administration

Superintendent Terry Karger went over highlights of changes made in the 2024 Legislative session and how they applied to policy changes that have been made in committee.

One that had a big effect on the district was Voluntary Pre-kindergarten funding, which allocated $50 million to increase the program seats to 12,360 in fiscal year 2025.

“We were the recipients of some of that money,” said Karger.

Districts are required to provide paraprofessionals with six hours of training.

If a surplus exists from the food service fund, it can be used for lunchroom furniture

A weighted grade point average policy has been instituted for students who earn post secondary enrollment options.

Districts are required to screen K-3 students three times per year, up from twice per year.

Public libraries in Minnesota must not ban, remove, or otherwise restrict access to a book or other material based solely on its viewpoint or the message, ideas, or opinions it conveys.

Adopting a policy on parental notification for uscheduled student removal from class.

Students now have the ability to utilize telehealth. Districts must provide access to space for a student to receive mental health care through telehealth.

There are 27 teachers in the district, 23 at the elementary school, who will undergo two years of Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) training.

Staffing

The board approved the following:

• Hiring a Junior High MVP Youth Leader for the PCN Youth Group, Valerie Turnbull

• Hiring a Full-Time Food Service Worker, Angel Gerving

• Hiring a High School Administrative Assistant, Emily Bachmann

• Resignation of a Special Education Paraprofessional, Emily Bachmann

• An independent agreement with Jerry Hanson as the Student Support Coordinator

• Resignation of School Board Member Kimberly Antonsen. Background: The District has received a letter of resignation from Board Member Kimberly Antonsen

Hornet Pride

• A donation from the Tyler Shipman Memorial Car Show of $200 in gift cards was received for the Hornet Care Closet

• A donation was received for Summer Rec from: Frazee Sportsman’s Club $120; Frazee Lions Club $80; Swanson Cares $500; R.D. Offutt Farms Co. $200

• Casey’s sent a Loyalty Donation for $13.80 for the FV Elementary School

• Jennifer Winn donated $126.30, Dede Seim donated $22.50, and an anonymous donor donated $10 to be used for past due lunch account balances

North River Drive

The school board approved supporting the City of Frazee for improvements to North River Drive at a cost of $1,623.

The city has made improvements to North River Drive, adding gravel and calcium chloride from Highway 29 to Highway 87 for the total cost of $8,646. The application of calcium chloride from Highway 87 to the ball fields, for a cost of $1,623, is the amount the Budget and Facilities Committee recommended for approval.

The treatment was prompted due to the increased use of the road by guests of Wannigan Regional Park, the baseball/softball fields and the utilization of the Frazee-Vergas Elementary School parking lot.

The Becker County Highway Department performed the work at a cost of $8,646.

The cost from gravel was $5,400 and $3,246 for calcium chloride.