Education Notebook

Rochester schools: Board votes to fund improvements at Longfellow Elementary

The Rochester school board on Tuesday night voted to borrow $500,000 for a $1.5 million gymnasium project at Longfellow Elementary School.

The project includes constructing a new gymnasium, splitting the current gymnasium into a music room and art room, renovating the school kitchen, replacing a boiler, and removing areas that contain asbestos.

The funding for the renovation project involves entering a "lease-purchase agreement and ground lease agreement." The lease-purchase is to be repaid over three years from the ongoing Operating Capital revenue stream.

Opinion: Editorial board weighs in on upcoming levy

The Post-Bulletin Editorial Board weighed in about the upcoming levy referendum, suggesting that the board will be moving uphill. They also said it makes sense to take a close look at any other consulting expenses incurred by moving forward with the levy campaign.

The consulting company typically conducts a survey to understand community sentiment toward a levy, what the community would support, etc.  The link is below, with the entire editorial pasted, too.

(Again, it should be noted: the P-B Editorial Board is completely separate from newsroom coverage. The editorial board takes an opinionated view, while reporters report the news. I have no bearing on what is written in editorials, just as the editorial writers have no bearing on what appears on the news side of things. I feel like I need to bring this up, simply because someone once anonymously complained that the editorials were too opinionated. If anything, I consider that a compliment. -EM)

LINK: Board will have to make strong case for levy

ARTICLE: Rochester public schools cut more than 44 teaching positions

Rochester School District budget cuts are no longer just numbers on a page.

The effects of $4.5 million in budget cutbacks continue to materialize in Rochester public schools, as the district released more than 44 full-time teaching jobs, half of whom were tenured, on Tuesday night. The other 22 full-time positions were probationary, also known as non-tenured teaching positions.

(Ed note: Here's the list of teachers who have been laid off. It's included not to pile on, but to let people know what is happening and also to let parents know which teachers won't be back.)

Board members were somber as they moved forward with the job cuts.

ARTICLE: Board green-lights levy referendum

The Rochester school board on Tuesday night green-lighted the creation of a levy referendum campaign this fall.

If approved by taxpayers, it would raise millions of dollars for the school district, but would also raise annual taxes for landowners. The exact figures have yet to be released, as the school district will now begin researching what could receive voter approval.

"We have an opportunity to bring a levy referendum to the community and ask our voters to continue to stand in support of education and to continue to support every child," Rochester public schools Superintendent Romain Dallemand said.

But approval may be difficult.

Even the school board decision to offer the referendum wasn't unanimous. The measure was eventually approved, 6-1, with board member Fred Daly dissenting.

That was quick - Anti-Rochester public school referendum clip hits YouTube

Well, that was fast.

If Rochester public schools officials were wondering if they would face any political battles in going after a operating levy referendum this fall, they have their answer: Yes.

As I reported earlier today, Rochester public schools are considering putting a levy referendum on this fall's ballot. Granted, the board is going to talk about the matter tonight and hasn't even officially announced that they will go after a levy. Even more, possible levy figures haven't been released yet, either.

This is only a 20 second video -- and it's not as if the production values totaled into the thousands of dollars and hours of time -- but at the very least, the quick timing of its creation shows that at least some people around town are ready to shout down a new levy.

The vid was posted by "RochesterGadfly," who posts as a P-B Commenter as "Rochester_Gadfly."

Here's a link to the video:

ARTICLE: Rochester begins levy referendum push (also includes upcoming election dates, background info not in print version)

After two years of a combined $13.8 million in cutbacks, Rochester public schools are seeking a voter approved property tax increase.

Tonight, the school board will review information about an operating levy that could be on the November ballot, if approved by the school board.

It's unclear right now how much the district will ask for from voters this fall. The district expects to pay about $20,000 in consulting fees to analyze those figures. Until that amount is finalized, it's also unknown how a new levy would raise taxes.

Olmsted County judge denies JM student's request for restraining order, reinstatement to band class

(Ed. note: Both stories about this issue are included. Since both are long, I included the print-version links at the top of the page. -EM)

LINK: Judge denies restraining order
LINK: JM student alleges discrimination

Judge denies restraining order in band removal lawsuit

By Elliot Mann
The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

An Olmsted District judge has denied a legal request from a 14-year-old John Marshall High School student to return to his freshman band class pending a future decision on an injunction.

Judge Joseph Chase issued his ruling Monday afternoon, and the student will remain in the sophomore band class where the Rochester school district moved him for now.

A hearing on a temporary injunction to reverse the district's decision is scheduled for April 29.

The student and his mother filed a discrimination lawsuit in Olmsted District Court last week against the school district and an assistant principal at JM. The family requested a temporary restraining order so the student could return to his freshman band class while the case was pending, and Chase had a hearing on the request Friday.

The student was reassigned to a different band class while the district investigated a claim that he had inappropriately touched a female student. The student, represented by Rochester attorney James McGeeney, alleges he was discriminated against because of his race and sex.

The complaint seeks more than $50,000 in damages.

ARTICLE: Rochester's middle school industrial tech, home ec classes meet the buzz saw, butcher knife

(Ed note: This article appeared in Saturday's Post-Bulletin, but it was split into two due to space. Here it is as one article. Links to the print versions are provided at the end. -EM)

When Keven Newton began teaching industrial technology to middle schoolers 24 years ago, there was a metal shop, drafting lab, electronic area and wood shop. The metal shop was eliminated years ago, the drafting lab soon followed suit and next fall, the rest of the industrial technology department vanishes, too.

Rochester public schools has announced that all industrial technology and family and consumer sciences classes will be removed from the middle school curriculum next year. The move has been caused by the most recent round of budget cuts. 

In February, the school board cut $4.5 million, a year after slashing more than $9 million. The latest round of cutbacks included a 3.5 percent reduction in middle school staff, which translates to at least five middle school teachers. At least six high school teachers will lose their jobs, too.

District officials maintain that the decision doesn't mean those classes aren't important, but that it simply comes down to a numbers game. "It's not that these courses aren't important for kids," said Ann Clark, Rochester's executive director of curriculum and instruction. "A lot of tough decisions had to be made."

Currently, students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade take exploratory classes, also known as electives. Those classes include art, family and consumer sciences (FACS), health and Spanish. But next year, that changes.

Sixth-graders will not have exploratory classes. Seventh-graders will have one semester of communication skills/computer literacy and one of art. Eighth-graders will have one semester of Spanish and one semester of health.

While there has been a stepped up focus on science and math courses, other departments have been hit hard as education experts call for courses labeled as college preparatory. But many students, Newton said, can become well-compensated electricians, mechanics or metal workers, among other trades. These classes can first ignite hands-on interest.

ARTICLE: Rochester school board announces primary, candidate filing dates

Rochester residents, get your pens ready for a primary school board election.

The school board Tuesday night announced dates of a possible upcoming primary, along with the dates that prospective candidates can file for election.

Four current board members will be up for re-election: Fred Daly, Diane Hermann Blakley, Mechelle Severson and Sandra Soltis. None of the incumbents have officially stated intentions to run.

Daly has said he will wait until the filing period to announce his intentions; Soltis said she doesn't plan to seek reelection. Hermann Blakley said she is leaning toward not running again and Severson said she would be willing to step aside too.

Interested candidates can file for office May 18 through June 1 at the Edison Administration Building, 615 Seventh St. S.W. (There is a $2 filing fee.) The general election will be held Nov. 2, and a primary election, if needed, will be held Aug. 10.

ARTICLE: 80 one-year teaching contracts expire in Rochester schools

The contracts of 80 temporary teachers and long-term substitute teachers in Rochester public schools will expire at the end of year, which was announced by the school board Tuesday night. 

(The names of the teachers are listed here. I don't include them to add insult to injury, but interested parents might want to know what happened to a particular teacher that they liked, didn't like, wanted to request for their child, etc.)

The contracts were written for one year, and the release of these positions is an annual move.

The 80 teachers represent 59.7 full-time teaching positions, in a variety of subjects and age groups. Of those positions, 29.5 belonged to temporary teachers, who are employees signed to one-year deals.