ABOVE: CER will be leaving the SMEC building after a vote to not renew the school district’s agreement with the city of Fairmont was approved by the school board on Tuesday. Over the summer, CER will relocate to the elementary school, where the Open Door Health Center was most recently.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont School Board elected not to continue the agreement with the city for Community Education and Recreation (CER) to remain in the Southern Minnesota Educational Campus (SMEC) building during Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Board Member Dan Brookens said where CER will move to has already been fleshed out.

“Plans have begun to relocate the CER offices to the Fairmont Elementary School,” he said. “The planned location is what was formerly occupied by the Open Door Health Center. The transition is scheduled to occur this upcoming summer. This change will result in cost savings for the school district, as well as some further opportunities for expanded CER programming here in the building.”

Fairmont Superintendent Andy Traetow said this is something they had already known was a possibility back when the last CER-SMEC agreement was signed.

“When our previous memorandum of agreement for the use of the SMEC building was expiring with the city, it was mutually agreed that it would be a one-year lease,” he said. “This is the expiration of that one-year lease we have communicated, letting the city know of our intent to make this change.”

Looking forward, Traetow said they were grateful to partner with the city, and they are looking to continue collaborating with the city moving forward.

For those with questions, Board Member Mike Edman said this is just the first step in a multi-step process.

“There will be much more information coming out later about when the new hours are, when the official move happens,” he said. “If you’re calling CER to find out what the details are, we don’t know yet. We’re working on them, and this has to happen first.”

The contract nonrenewal was approved unanimously by the board.

Next year’s calendar was also discussed by the school board. Board Member Jen Harris said this has gone through the proper channels to make it here.

“The drafted calendar was created for the 26-27 school year, and it was provided to the groups within the district for feedback,” she said. “It was reviewed by the operations committee.”

The one major difference Harris said she wanted to point out is that there will be no more Cardinal Days. School will start on the first of September for the high school and on the second for the elementary school. There will be a four day weekend starting on the fourth for Labor Day. Edman said this had been on the minds of some in the community, looking ahead to Labor Day planning.

Traetow said E-Learning days may play a bigger role next year.

“The state minimum is 165 days,” he said. “We’re scheduled for 167 at the elementary, 168 at the Jr/Sr High School, which certainly increases the likelihood that we may implement E-Learning days at some point next year.”

All board members voted to approve this version of next year’s schedule.

In other news:

— Board Member Mari Myren attended a CER Advisory Meeting. She said summer planning is going strong and some new offerings are already being planned, including all ages line dancing, flour milling and dog obedience class. There are also some potential additional offerings in collaboration with 4-H, but Myren said there are not very many details on this at this time.

— Superintendent Traetow attended the Southern Plains Education Cooperative meeting, which consists of Fairmont, Blue Earth, Martin County West, United South Central and Granada-Huntley East Chain. The main discussion was what to do with the Cooperative’s current fund balance. Traetow said of the options to save the funds, reinvest them, or return some of the dollars to districts, the Fairmont area schools’ recommendation is to return some of the money. Traetow said the final determination on this will come at their meeting in May.