Labor contracts and negotiations may be dominating school board discussions at tonight’s board meeting.

Monday, April 15, 2002

Labor contracts and negotiations may be dominating school board discussions at tonight’s board meeting.

At the meeting, the board is scheduled to hear reports on the status of negotiations with teaching staff, para-educators and administrators. Settlements are pending with both teachers and para-educators, while the district is still negotiating with administrators. Many independent contracts with individuals are also still being negotiated.

The district and teaching staff used mediation to come to an agreement. While the bulk of the agreement is in place, wording of some sections of the contract is still being worked on, according to district officials. Although it wasn’t part of their labor negotiations, earlier this year, the teachers had voted to release $200,000 designated for staff development for use by the district for general fund programs.

The contracts, if approved by the employees affected, would be for the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 school years.

In other business, the board will:

– Hear about the district’s summer school programs at the high school and middle school. This year, for the first time, the district will be offering summer school courses and activities for K-12 students.

– Decide whether to accept a donation from the Albert Lea Education Foundation endowment fund to pay Mark Hall, the artist designing the wall sculpture near the high school’s main entrance. The sculpture is being created over time, with the participation of students, faculty and others.

– Receive an update on district testing.

– Hear the first reading of a number of policies: Summer programs at the high school and middle school, captain’s practices, athletic participation, and academic eligibility for extracurricular activities.

The school board will meet tonight at 7 p.m. in the boardroom at Brookside Education Center. The board meets regularly on the first and third Mondays of the month.