Monday, May 13, 2013
Fairness in school funding was one of the topics at an April 29, 2013 joint meeting of the St. Michael-Albertville School Board and the city councils of St. Michael and Albertville, the Press News reported.
Legislative funding formulas are working against the St. Michael-Albertville school district, district leaders said at an April 29, 2013 joint meeting of the school board and the city councils of St. Michael and Albertville, according to the Press & News: The superintendent said if the legislature doesn’t update the formula then STMA faces program cuts and larger class sizes. [School Board Chairperson Doug] Birk said, “We can’t ignore the impact this political decision will have on our kids. “There’s confusion about asking (taxpayers) for more. We’re not asking for more. We’re saying the formula needs to be fair, and it’s not even close to fair. It’s based on political gamesmanship.” Read the full article at pressnews.com. Other topics at …
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Wednesday, March 6, 2013
St. Michael Patch readers shared opinions about recent school lunch problems, which were discussed during Monday's school board meeting.
After St. Michael Patch published an article about school lunch issues, readers took to the comment stream to express their opinions with the perceived food quality problem that St. Michael-Albertville School District is facing. Read: School Lunches at Center of St. Michael-Albertville School Board Discussion One reader, who was identified as “student STMA,” said that while nutritional requirements come from the government, the district is forgetting that students aren’t eating the food. I love fruit, but quality fruit. It's hard to find a banana that is ripe, and apples that aren't bruised. It may be government required to supply this food, I understand that, but the food supplied isn't prepared the best. Senior at STMA agreed that the …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Changes in the school lunch program, from smaller portions to those sweet potato fries, continue to draw fire from both students and parents.
It's going to be another night for the cooks to take center stage. Dolores Helgeson, director of the food service program for St. Michael-Albertville School District No. 885 will give her annual report to the board of education, and the topic for discussion continues to be changes to the student menu. Students continue to raise their frustrations (remember this one from now-senior Mikey Kessler) with everything from sweet potato fries and the lack of those beloved "Tater Tots" to the size of portions they are getting from the lunch lines. Now, rumors are swirling the a la carte line, a "non-healthy option" for many years that has been cleaned up with fruits and healthy options, might go away completely. The school board will meet …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The school board and City of Albertville approved the amount in January. The City of St. Michael paid its share in August 2012.
The St. Michael-Albertville School Board at its Jan. 22 meeting approved a $10,000 contribution to the St. Michael-Albertville Arena for maintenance and upkeep of the facility. The Albertville City Council also approved a $10,000 payment at its early January meeting. The City of St. Michael approved its $10,000 portion in August 2012, and has already made the payment to the arena. The $30,000 will go strictly to the maintenance and equipment needs of the facility, said Grant Fitch, arena manager. The school district and two cities jointly own the arena. "Most rinks don't have cash flow each year," Fitch said. "As the building gets old, you're looking at repairs and a Zamboni, which a new one costs around $115,000." A Zamboni is a machine…
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
A new B-squad team is expected to form this spring.
The growing interest in girls lacrosse at St. Michael-Albertville High School was met with approval of a third team by the St. Michael-Albertville School Board last week. The board at its regular meeting Tuesday evening approved partially funding a B-squad team, in addition to the current varsity and junior varsity teams. "We have interest from more girls than we first anticipated," said St. Michael-Albertville School District Superintendent Jim Behle. The district will contribute $950 for transportation to away games and for game officials. The lacrosse booster club will pay for the rest — such as the cost of a coach and equipment — through fundraising efforts and registration costs. When girls lacrosse was added as an official high …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Nancy Pelletier, owner of ABC Childcare, asked the board to consider closing the program as it competes with her business.
The St. Michael-Albertville School Board on Monday night showed unanimous support for the district's Just4Kids program, when local childcare business owners asked them to shut it down because it competes with their business. Asking the board to consider the change was Nancy Pelletier, owner of ABC Chilcare, her husband Randy Pelletier, and president of Wright County Family Childcare Association Hollee Saville, who also owns Happee Hollee's Childcare. All told the school board that it's not the place of government to compete with the private sector, and that ABC Childcare has seen a decrease in enrollment since the district started its Just4Kids program five years ago. The Just4Kids program is a preschool and pre-kindergarten program for …
Monday, December 17, 2012
In a reprise from an argument Nancy Pelletier brought to the board of education three years ago, the longtime provider and business owner is challenging the school district's child care programs.
Nancy Pelletier, owner of ABC Childcare, will once again challenge the St. Michael-Albertville School District's preschool and pre-kindergartn program, Just4Kids, when she approaches the St. Michael-Albertville School Board at tonight's final meeting of 2012. The meeting, set for 7 p.m. at St. Michael-Albertville Middle School West (use Door A), will be held in the board's meeting room. Pelletier told the Crow River News last week that she's concerned the Just4Kids program is driving away private business in the community, contributing to her drop in enrollment for 4 and 5-year-old children and probably shutting down Especially for Kids in the Albertville business sector. In that vein, she's reprisng her argument that school districts …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Drew Scherber, Carol Steffens and Jeanne Holland will serve another term.
The St. Michael Albertville School Board will retain its three incumbents for another four-year term. Incumbents Drew Scherber, Jeanne Holland and Carol Steffens collected the majority of the votes. Lone challenger Jim Shovelain came in last. The numbers are as follows: The three took the lead early on in the counts. Holland was second in the race until Steffens surpassed her by seven votes.
Drew Scherber so far takes the largest number of votes, with three of the seven precincts reporting.
With three of seven precincts reporting, the St. Michael-Albertville School Board looks thus far like it will retain all three of its incumbents for another four-year term for each. Drew Scherber took the largest number of votes so far, 72, for 32 percent of the vote. Jeanne Holland follows him with 57 votes, Carol Steffens with 52 and the race’s lone challenger, Jim Shovelain, receiving 42 votes thus far for just under 19 percent of the vote. St. Michael Patch will continue to update results as more information becomes available.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Check out our Elections Topic Page, dubbed "Participate 2011," for information about this year's Operations Levy vote.
The St. Michael-Albertville School District is holding an election tomorrow, and you're completely lost? Have no fear. St. Michael Patch, as always, is here to help. We have a handful of articles outlining the proposed Operations Levy vote, which will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 8). Check out our Elections Topic Page, dubbed "Participate 2011," for information about this year's Operations Levy vote. We also have interviews with Superintendent Jim Behle, a letter of explination from the St. Michael-Albertville School Board (why they're asking for an increase in tax levy) and testimony from St. Michael and Albertville residents on both sides of the issue. Just wade through the "Bachmann Beat" stuff, if you're not …
Rick
4:58 am on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
My understanding was at the last school board meeting, which was held one week after the joint meeting reported about above, is that the STMA school levy is going to be adjusted up 1%. more ›