SHERBURN — At the beginning of March the Martin County School Board discussed the payment requested by Alex Schliesmann of Live Fit. A payment from Fairmont and Martin County West of $144,000 each would help the facility MCW uses for gymnastics to pay for the rebuild and guarantee the use of the facility for about five years. The board discussed the deficit spending issue and possible cuts that would short-change the programs of the district. In the lengthy discussions, the board brought up all those concerns and not owning the facility and therefore the liability issue. Chad Brusky reported that the equipment is owned by MCW and when their students are using the facility, MCW is liable.

Concerning the cash flow of the district, there was mentioned monies from the things budgeted for the Welcome School building will not be used since the electricity, water, fuel for heat, and some of the custodial salaries have been eliminated. The original payment to Live Fit would also be available. The board agreed that what they decide must be for the students. Keeping programs and thus keeping students was a concern for all. A motion to pay this for four years and a motion to pay it for two years were both defeated. A motion to pay for three years, since one year is almost over already, was approved later in the meeting after much discussion.

The March first meeting continued with the board going to a closed meeting to work on goal setting. Some of the goals were: to keep

a fund balance, have a clear strategic plan, and consistent message to the public, improvements to the website, have a positive culture and leadership structure, and the number one goal was to help struggling students.

At the March 15 regular school board meeting the new board member, Nathan Brieze, was sworn in. There was a presentation from Kara Lucht about the proposed and reserved senior trip in May.

The seniors decided to go to South Dakota instead of Washington D.C. due to many COVID pandemic issues and closures. They will leave on May 16 and return on May 20. The activities, events, and places

mentioned were many and interesting. Some of the activities would be visiting Wall Drug and Minuteman Missile Center and Keystone South Dakota. At the Mount Rushmore site, they may hike the Presidential Trail and learn its history. In Custer State Park lots of activities were mentioned and most of the seniors used the survey to pick horseback riding, paddleboarding, and hiking. They will do this in smaller groups. They will ride in seven-passenger jeeps through the part of the state park to see the buffaloes quite well and then will eat at a Chuckwagon Cookout and listen to live music to finish the whole day at Custer State Park. They will go to Devil’s Tower and then back to Spearfish Canyon. Time will dictate whether

they will hike or just take pictures of the beautiful scenery. The next destination will be Deadwood where they hope to go on a walking Ghost Tour which is history and fun too. They also hope to go to a dinner theatre. Bear Country will feature a cave tour and a mine tour and lunch. The day will conclude with Tramway Adventures where they will do a team-building rope course where they will be able to work together and get to know each other again after a year of sometimes learning apart. The last day will be a hike and/or picnic in the Badlands National Park’s beautiful scenery. Kara Lucht concluded the presentation with a comment that they are so excited that the seniors can get a trip that will make some great memories and allow the students to bond as a class.

The regular school board meeting proceeded with a report that a new heater was purchased for the pool and repairs to both heaters were done.

$30,000 was used for 29 students to take online college credit classes. Plans to have some of these classes available in school so the students will have the school culture were discussed.

The 2021-2022 calendar was approved. Once a month, there will be an early out day so the teachers can work on a new assessment program that will give all K-12 staff a common language and if a student is struggling a teacher could check back data from earlier grades and with other teacher’s notes as to what is the best way to help that student learn. COVID money may be used for this program to help struggling students. Teachers will be doing this during their day. The reduction of programs will be done by Chad Brusky and Michelle Baker after they look at class rosters. This is usually done in April.

Summer Ball registration is March 27 and the CER is looking for a Summer Ball coordinator as soon as possible.

The credit recovery was approved so that a student who did not succeed the first try may try again and receive credits toward graduation.

The board gratefully accepted donations from Farmer’s State Bank for the 2021-2022 class and the 2023-2024 class of $148. They also accepted $500 from the Fox Lake Conservation League for the summer CER programs.

Elementary principal Chad Peterson is working on the Fast Bridge Project to coordinate a student from K-12 so teachers can help throughout their grades.

Peterson also reported that the move for the nurse to the office area was more efficient and there was less running back and forth for the nurse, parents, and students. An extra bonus was the sink being available for clean-ups such as nosebleeds. He would like to thank the custodians for the quick and efficient movement of the equipment.

Kindergarten round-up is scheduled for April 8 and the “I Love to Read’ activities went very well and reinforced the attitude that reading is important and fun.

Mrs. Baker, Jr./Sr. High School Principal, reported that it has been a challenge for the teachers with two systems and the students coming back to in-school learning when they are used to online learning for almost a year. A check to help online students stay on focus and to track the work was discussed. She asked that the board consider another counselor to help with college preparations and mental health issues. The counselor could be overwhelmed with just regular counseling. She mentioned that MCW does a great job offering courses that students want and the students have an opportunity to take up to 50 credits for college while in high school. A suggestion to use local businesses to help with non-college vocation plans was made too.

Prom plans are being formed for April 24, as a tentative date since state restrictions are being dialed down somewhat.

Five new students were enrolled in February and the parents reported positive feelings from students and teachers as they had a

building tour. The goals for next year include better science and social studies curriculum.

The Board ended the meeting with a thank you to members of the community committee who took their time and talents to help with the superintendent search process and a thank you to Mr. Brusky for accepting the interim superintendent position for the 2021-2022 school year.

The next meeting of the board is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 19.