By Hannah Dillon

A community needs assessment to look at the proposed balanced calendar could take place this summer, with approval from the Albert Lea school board.

Superintendent Mike Funk led a discussion about the needs assessment at the school board meeting Monday at Brookside Education Center.

Funk said a similar scientific assessment was performed by Springsted, a public sector adviser from St. Paul, in Albert Lea in 2007.

The study assessed the community in 2007, when the district residents were divided on the issue of a referendum for an operating levy. A proposed levy had failed in 2006.  With a variety of questions, Springsted gauged how many of the 302 participants would approve or disapprove the 2007 referendum, then asked them again after providing additional information on the plans for the levy funds.

Some board members asked if Springsted’s results were close to the actual results of the 2007 referendum, which passed with 59 percent approval, and Funk said that they were both in the same percentage range.

The assessment is conducted with telephone interviews. Funk explained that Springsted buys voter registration information and cellphone data and crosses that with Albert Lea Area Schools data to get a variety of demographics, such as parents and non-parents, as well as different age groups and voter statuses.

Funk said the assessment would be between 23 and 34 questions. These questions would get developed in June if the board approves the assessment. This survey would then be conducted later in the summer, and Springsted would have the results to the board by September, Funk said.

This assessment would cost between $12,000 and $15,000, Funk said. However, the study would not just look at the proposed calendar; it also could tackle other questions on class sizes and preschool programs.

Further discussion about the needs assessment will be at the June 2 workshop. This workshop will look at the updates to Hammer Field, the technological infrastructure of the schools being updated with no additional funds and the education foundation helping out to get more technology dollars, Funk said.

In other action, the school board:

• Approved the continuation of a food service contract with Chartwells.

Lori Volz, director of finance and operations, discussed food service management companies. She said school districts that contract for food service operations are required to request proposals at least every three years.

Volz recommended Chartwells, the district’s current vendor. Chartwells offers a $71,155 guaranteed profit every year for the three years. Volz said that the school’s current relationship with Chartwells is good.

• Approved posting permanent vacancies with the teachers’ union on the district website instead of just on a bulletin board.

• Heard from vocal music teacher Diane Heaney on the choir’s student trip next year. The first proposal was for a five-day trip to Hawaii with two travel days in March of 2015. Heaney said she had 100 seats saved and that the trip would be $1,600 per student.

The second proposal was for a Nashville trip around the same time of year that would cost $600 to $700 per student.

The board approved the first proposal for a trip to Hawaii.

• Celebrated the success of swimming and wrestling teams. Swimming coach Jon Schmitz praised his record-making athletes for their fifth place win at the state meet.

Wrestling coach Larry Goodnature introduced the four students that made it to the state tournament. He described that the team moved to Class AA instead of AAA this year and that competition was a lot more difficult. Despite the higher difficulty, the team managed to snag third place and state champion at the state wrestling tournament.

Goodnature said that the high school will get a CrossFit training room that will be open to all high school athletes.