FAIRMONT– The Fairmont School Board met on Tuesday in the Budd Room at Fairmont Elementary School. After a brief meeting it entered a special work session to discuss the next stage of developing the district’s strategic plan.

Once finalized the district’s strategic plan will outline its priorities and objectives for the next several years. For the process of preparing the plan the district is working with the Centerville, Minnesota-based education consulting firm Teamworks International Inc. and its chief operational officer Dr. Ray Queener. For the past several months the district has been conducting surveys and focus groups with staff, students and families regarding what kind of experience the district will provide for students.

The results of these surveys and focus groups are being used to draft a list of priorities for each of these three groups which will then be taken into consideration when drafting the final plan.

During their work session the board reviewed a draft of these priorities. While the draft’s content is subject to revision, one common theme was a larger interest in promoting social and personal development among students compared to previous years. Queener cited the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as one factor that contributed to this change, and noted while some of the interests expressed by students and families may not be directly related to educational outcomes, respondents saw them as a prerequisite for a productive learning environment.

Another important issue indicated by students and families was for the district to try and address potential internal biases and ensure the expression of a wider range of personal identities. Board members expressed support for these goals but expressed a concern about a possible reactionary response.

Board member Michael Edman critiqued the existing draft of priorities for being too broad and believed it would be difficult for the district to draft specific policies which would address all of them effectively. Queener accepted the critique but noted the committee responsible for drafting the strategic plan also tried to use the original language used by respondents and any revisions would need to balance specificity and remaining consistent with the sentiment of respondents.

Board members also noted the district had some restrictions which prevented them from implementing all of their stakeholders’ goals as asked. For example, some students expressed an interest in larger portions being available in school lunches, but state standards mandate particular serving sizes.

The district will continue the development of its strategic plan into the summer.

In his report to the board during its regular meeting, Superintendent Andy Traetow noted he had few updates regarding infrastructure projects, enrollment or health and safety, but once again mentioned the school’s additional snow make up days which will occur at the end of the school year.

Traetow also characterized the recent Cardinal Community Day of Service as a successful revival of an event that’s been dormant since before the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“It’s great to bring that back and allow our students to be engaged there,” said Traetow.

Board member Julie Laue was with a group of high school students working on a project in Ceylon and was pleased with their work.

“They were very well behaved students, they worked hard and I couldn’t say anything better about the turnout,” said Laue.

Edman expressed an exploratory interest in the high school having an additional day of service during the fall of the upcoming school year, arguing its positive reception from the community could indicate public support for an additional day of service and having seniors work with community organizations well before they graduate could allow them to build useful connections to groups and individuals they could utilize while they’re still attending school in Fairmont.

The board will meet again for the last time in the Fairmont Council Chambers on June 13. After that meeting the board’s lease with the city of Fairmont will expire and the board will begin meeting regularly in the Budd Room at Fairmont Elementary School. During the month of June the district will install new furniture as well as audio visual equipment in the Budd Room so that meetings can continue to be live-streamed on social media. Traetow expects the new equipment to be operational by the beginning of July.

In other business, the board approved:

— Contracts for high school associate principal, Brooke Schultz, high school dean of students, Erin Elder, elementary education teacher, Sara Rothmeier and elementary head custodian, Ryan Majeske. Schultz’s and Elder’s contracts are part of a wider structural overhaul of Fairmont’s building principals. Elder will replace outgoing dean of students, Andy Walden, who has accepted a job as the high school principal at Granada-Huntley-East Chain.

— Resignations for high school science teacher, Hannah Olson, elementary aide, Jennifer Streit and high school science teacher, Greg Maday, effective at the end of the school year.

— A memorandum of understanding between the district and the Fairmont Principals’ Association wherein an associate principal salary schedule is added to the district’s principals’ master agreement.