BLUE EARTH– The Blue Earth Area School Board held their annual Truth in Taxation hearing as the first item of their meeting on Monday.

Then later during the regular meeting, the board passed a resolution setting the property tax levy for the school district for next year.

That 2023 levy was set at $3,304,533, up from $3,134,692 for the current 2022 year. That is a 5.42 percent increase.

The overall budget for the 2022-2023 school year is at $16,361,788.

The board members also heard a detailed report from superintendent Mandy Fletcher concerning the Strategic Roadmap/Three Year Operational Plan.

The report covered the four areas of goals for the district, then she gave a report on what has been done to attain those goals during the last school year, the current school year, and what is proposed for the next school year.

In other business, the BEA Board also:

— Approved a resolution ratifying and confirming the school calendar for 2022-2023. The one major change was to include a week-long spring break.

— Approved the certified staff seniority list and the non-certified staff seniority list for 2022-2023.

— Approved a Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Blue Earth which covered shared maintenance of sports facilities.

— Approved a memorandum of understanding with Eunoia Family Resource Center which would allow them to have an on site therapist at the school one day a week.

— Approved a resolution that would establish a combined polling place in the event of a special election not held on the day of a statewide election.

— Approved a World’s Best Workforce summary report.

— Approved the final reading of a policy that concerns the procedure for naming rights to district owned buildings and sites.

— Took care of several personnel matters, including: hiring Ryan Hennegar and Amber Lein as paraprofessionals; hiring Brent Nissen for maintenance; approved Jean Wagner’s retirement, and thanked her for her 17 years of service.