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A six-month study of world language course offerings in grades 7-12 has resulted in no curriculum expansion for now. A task force appointned by the ISD 831 School Board last spring has concluded that the district continue with its current offerings of French, German and Spanish. The group also recommended that any decision to add a new foreign language should be considered in a year after the task force has reconvened to further explore the topic. The group concluded that the district has a “robust” world language program and if an additional language is added, it should be an Asian language to complement the European languages now offered.
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An independent auditor has given ISD 831 a good grade for its financial accounting in the 2006-2007 school year. The audit was presented by Malloy, Montague, Karnowski & Radosevich, P.A. on Thursday, Dec. 6 and accepted by the school board. The firm delivered a “clean” report, indicating it found no problems with the district’s accounting practices. Regarding fund balances, the audit said the district’s 5.9 percent balance at the end of the past school year represents roughly three weeks of operational expenses. While some districts may want a fund balance that is closer to 10 percent, the amount of money remaining in balance is a local decision. The district ended the past fiscal year on June 30, 2007 with a total fund balance of $6.3 million. That includes $2.64 million in reserved fund balances and $3.67 million in unreserved-undesignated fund balance. The fund balance crew from 4.7 percent on June 30, 2006 to 5.9 percent this year
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Gerry Seaburg and Brian Rigwald of the Forest Lake Area Schools were recognized as TIES Exceptional Teachers at the TIES 2007 Education Technology Conference at the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency on Dec. 11. They were among 60 teachers from 32 districts. The teachers were chosen by their superintendents for the TIES Exceptional Teacher award, which recognizes teachers who model the best practices in using technology in their classroom and engaging students in learning.The accomplishments of these teachers can be viewed at:
www.ties.k12.mn.us/TIES_2007_Exceptional_Teachers.html. Besides being recognized at the conference, each teacher is featured in the TIES Exceptional Teachers publication and received a certificate. School districts participating in the TIES Exceptional Teacher award program are members of TIES, an education technology consortium of 38 Minnesota school districts.
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Jefferson Lines will continue making stops in Forest Lake next year. Bus tickets on routes to Duluth and Minneapolis will soon be available for purchase locally, thanks to an agreement between Jefferson Partners, L.P. and Washington County. Jefferson Lines operates bus service to more than 150 rural and urban destinations through the country. Under the agreement, buses will stop daily at the new Forest Lake Transit Center being constructed across the street from the new Washington County Headwaters Service Center - Forest Lake, 19955 Forest Road N. just west of US-61. Buses will leave the transit center for Duluth at 12:10 p.m. and travel to Minneapolis at 7 p.m. daily. Jefferson Lines tickets will be sold at the service center’s front desk and Washington County will receive a 15 percent commission on sales. Currently, there is no local agent in the Forest Lake area, although the bus is stopping in the downtown to allow riders to board. Ticket sales at the service center could start as early as January 2008. County commissioners lauded the agreement as a good example of a public-private partnership that provides valuable transit service to area residents.
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Completing a budget process which began in mid-April, the Washington County Board of Commissioners last week adopted the 2008 budget and certified property tax levies for Washington County, the Regional Rail Authority and the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. The 2008 adjusted county levy of $81.1 million is a 6.9 percent increase over the 2007 levy. The 2008 levy for the HRA is $3.15 million and the 2008 levy for Regional Rail Authority is $245,300. The $81.1 million county levy will still allow Washington County residents to pay one of the lowest property tax rates in the state. Much of the increase on the county levy can be attributed to costs related to opening new county service centers in Forest Lake and Cottage Grove, the new Hardwood Creek Branch Library in Forest Lake, funding for the 800 MHZ emergency radio system, and the expected summer opening of Big Marine Park. The budget also includes costs related to road projects in Afton, Bayport, Cottage Grove, Grant, Lakeland, Lakeland Shores, Stillwater, Stillwater Township and Woodbury. Of every property tax dollar paid by Washington County residents, about 24 cents goes to fund county services. More about the budget process can be found at www.co.washington.mn.us.
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The Washington County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 11 approved a funding agreement with the Disabled Veterans Rest Camp in which the county serves as a conduit through which the camp can receive $500,000 in state funding for improvements. The camp is located along Big Marine Lake in northern Washington County and provides a place of relaxation and socializing for veterans of all wars. Improvements to the camp include construction of a pavilion, groundwork for 28 recreational vehicle sites, a trail system and clearing sites for nine new duplex cabins. Fourteen local labor unions donated time to the project.
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Residents of Washington and Chisago counties will continue to have more options for disposing of their household hazardous waste thanks to an agreement between the two counties to share facilities. Chisago County has operated a permanent Household Hazardous Waste facility in North Branch since 2000. Washington County has a facility in Oakdale. The two counties have had a reciprocal use agreement in place since 2001 and the current agreement expires at the end of 2007. The Washington County Board renewed the agreement through 2009. Citizens can currently use either facility and counties will be reimbursed based on the number of people coming from the neighboring county to use their facility. For more information on household hazardous waste disposal, go to -www.co.washington.mn.us, and click on Hazardous Waste At Home in the “Info for Residents” section.
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What were those lights in the sky one night last week? On Monday, Dec. 10, the Running Aces Harness Park in Columbus had a one-time “burn in” period for the track’s lighting system. The entire complex was lit up from approximately 2 p.m. on Monday to 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Kraus-Anderson, the contractor for Running Aces, carried out this standard start-up period in order to prepare and test the track’s lighting system.
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