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Secretaries honored as GMs [UPDATED]
Published 9:29am Friday, October 12, 2012 Updated 11:31am Friday, October 12, 2012Congratulations to this year’s Homecoming Parade Grand Marshals, Jane Schierer and Brenda Hanson. Jane and Brenda are high school secretaries and wonderful employees who assist and care for our students and staff daily.
Please join me in thanking them for their work and congratulating them on this honor.
Health care career
bus cruise
Students in grades 9-12 are invited to cruise by bus to the University of Minnesota’s Health Careers Center for first-hand experiences in some of today’s health care careers. Students will be on the University of Minnesota’s campus from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $30 per person which includes the bus ride, career center visit, and lunch. Registrations are open until Oct. 12 or until space is full.
Experiences at the Health Careers Center will include: Experiential Surgery Services, SimPortal, Visible Heart Lab and Health Careers Information Presentation. Registration forms may also be downloaded at http://www.mnahec.umn.edu/Central_AHEC and click on the event image toward the bottom of the page.
If you have questions please contact Lori Larson, Regional Specialist, Central MN Area Health Education Center at 218-736-1690.
Education finance
working group to hold
listening session in FF
Rising expectations for college and career readiness, an increasingly diverse student body and the demand to create a competitive workforce is placing greater demands than ever on Minnesota schools.
At the same time, the way schools are funded hasn’t been modified in more than two decades and has become heavily reliant on property taxes just to keep pace with rising costs of transportation and staff, the need for new technology and maintenance of outdated facilities and equipment.
That’s why a task force that has spent months examining Minnesota’s schools finance system and crafting recommendations about how to reform it is taking its work to the people. The Education Finance Work Group is embarking on a statewide tour to share its findings and hear from Minnesotans.
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, the group will be in Fergus Falls to hold a listening session at the Lakes Country Service Cooperative (1001 East Mount Faith Avenue, Fergus Falls). This public meeting is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m.
Upcoming bond
referendum
During the month of October, my columns will continue to provide readers with information about the District’s upcoming Outdoor Facility Bond Referendum.
What did the Outdoor Facility Task Force members discover?
Due to the district being land locked, it was vitally important to carefully review the district’s existing green space and create a plan to effectively utilize every inch. The task force determined that our district has a shortage of quality green space for physical education classes and practices.
An important component to quality green space is that it needs proper drainage during wet seasons, along with an irrigation sprinkler system to in order to grow turf that will withstand the heavy use by physical education classes and CO-curricular activities. The district currently does not have these capabilities.
Citing student safety related to young people traveling to practices and events, the task force encouraged the District to have as many activities on site as possible. With this plan, tennis, soccer, football, track and field, softball activities, along with a science environmental center would all be located at the Kennedy/Cleveland sites.
The football bleachers are in dire need of replacement. The general condition of the bleachers is poor and lacks handicapped accessibility.
