Posted: 1/15/03

School board votes pay hike

For the first time in a long time, elected school board members in ISD 831 will be paid more for their services.

The school board on Jan. 6 voted 6-1 to boost the compensation for members, effective on July 1, the official start of the districtís new fiscal year.

Starting in July, board members will earn $200 a month, up $100 from the current payment of $100 a month. The board president will be paid a stipend of $200 a year, a boost of $100 from the current $100 stipend paid for extra duties of the board president.

The board clerk and treasurer each receive a $100 annual stipend for extra duties. The stipend for the two officers remains unchanged.

Board members will continue to be compensated $150 for attendance at full-day meetings and $75 for attending half-day meetings.

Board members are paid 34.5 cents a mile for personal use of car while on school board business.

In making the change last week, the board said the increase would improve the level of compensation for time donated to the school district. Two years ago, during the midst of serious budget decisions and cuts, the school board waived its annual salary and worked for no compensation.

Under the plan to start July 1, a board member in ISD 831 would be paid $2400 a year. Thatís still far below the compensation board members in neighboring districts are paid.

Board members in Centennial earn $4000 a year while White Bear Lake members are paid $4200 a year. Stillwater board members are paid $4400 a year.

The move, the board said, was designed to elevate ISD 831 compensation somewhat closer to the metro average.

Working to reach the metro average did not slip past Terry DuRei, president of the Forest Lake Education Association. In good-natured spirit, DuRei chimed in, ìWe think it is a good idea.î

FLEA has long used compensation rates of metro school districts as a bargaining chip in local contract talks for teachers.

The salary increase found support from President Bill Bresin and members Karen Morehead, Dean Barr, Rebecca Otto, Joe Grafft and Susan Novak. Jody Krebs was opposed.

Bus lease studied

A state law that allows districts to lease special education buses may be a boon to ISD 831, said Larry Martini, director of business affairs on Jan. 6.

Martini was granted board approval last week on a 7-0 vote to obtain formal quotes on the sale and subsequent lease of the districtís special education bus fleet under the Children, Families & Learning program.

Martini said a preliminary evaluation indicates the district will receive $200,000 in additional CFL revenue to cover the leasing cost.

The annual revenue would be above and beyond the one-time revenue realized from the sale of the fleet, he said. Martini said the sale could generate $200,000 of revenue.

The business manager said the likely plan would see the district selling the buses and leasing back the same equipment. The district would continue to provide the drivers and maintain the equipment, he said.

The districtís special education fleet numbers 15 buses.

Kindergarten plan

A change is now pending for early entrance to kindergarten in ISD 831. The board completed its first reading of Policy 501 last week which deals with early entrance to kindergarten.

The policy is recommended by the boardís policy committee. The policy takes the approval process out of the hands of the school board and stipulates that the family of the student to be assessed for early entrance be charged the entire cost of the assessment.

The decision regarding early entrance to kindergarten would be made by the director of administration and human resources.

Under current rules, students entering kindergarten must be 5 on or before Sept. 1 of the year they enter school. Kids considered for early entrance are to be assessed by a district screening committee.

The district will continue to work on a time frame when early entrance requests can be made and at the boardís direction attempt to provide a uniform fee structure. The board will consider the policy again at its Feb. 3 meeting.

Web site launched

The board also received a report Jan. 6th that its revised web site has been launched. Lee Reed, communication coordinator, updated the board.

The redesigned site comes after several months of reconstruction aided by the help of a professional consultant. Once bugs in the system are worked out, Lee said the district will begin a campaign to promote the web site.

The revised site contains easily navigated links for students, parents and community, teaching and learning, Community Services, district personnel, plus an employment link. A new link with a marketing spin is provided for web surfers who considering a move to the ISD 831 area.

A ticker tape also provides up-to-date information on district news, such as school events and school closings, plus weather-related news.

The web site can be found at www.forestlake.k12.mn.us.

During the initial days of the site, Reed said users may find some sites still under construction.

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