Parkers Prairie ISD 547

Superintendent Saga

December 30, 2022

Gratitude

As the new year approaches, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Parkers Prairie School Board and District. I am also grateful for the community members who have welcomed me to Parkers Prairie. I am amazed by the generosity of residents of the District.

These first four and one half months have gone by quickly as I have learned about the District and its strengths and challenges. I am grateful for the staff members at all levels who have been open to helping me learn.

Entering the last half of Fiscal Year 2023 there will be a need for many discussions about working together to meet the greatest challenge facing our district. This challenge is the huge budget deficit that is quickly depleting the District’s fund balance. We need to work together and look at all possibilities in order to be able to adopt a balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2024. 

Management

The power outage on Friday. December 16, 2022 does not appear to have caused any major immediate problems.  Security cameras and phone systems needed to be reset and some fuses replaced and breakers reset.  Nothing raising to the level of the need for an insurance claim has been found. 

The need for an evaluation of electrical systems at the high school was made evident by the varied response to the power outage. There were some banks of lights blinking, some completely out, and others remaining on. 

The replacement of steam traps and the high school is underway.  This should help with the uneven heating in different  sections of the building and with the overflow of the condensate tank  under the stage in the  old gym.

A leak in the roof of the elementary school has been identified and repair/replacement will need to be part of next summer’s facilities projects.

We will be purchasing a 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT With 75,000 miles from Thielen Motors in Park Rapids. Cost including tax, title, and license is $22,554.35.

Technology

The legislature in 2022 amended M.S.13.32 EDUCATIONAL DATA, adding requirements for school districts to have data privacy agreements with all vendors of digital products used in the district. Lakes Country Service Cooperative has signed on with Southwest West Central Service Cooperative (SWWC) to support the creation of the Minnesota Data Privacy Clearinghouse using Learn Platform as the provider. The Clearinghouse is the most cost-effective tool that we have seen to comply with the Minnesota Student Data Privacy Act.

 

The basic Clearinghouse will provide one site to collect and rate data privacy agreements from across school districts. The Clearinghouse will also adopt Minnesota-specific agreements signed by SWWC for our district.  Additionally it will provide the required staff/parent portal showing the EdTech products currently approved for use.  Participating districts have credentials to upload and customize the public-facing portal to share with parents and staff.  This will save the district a tremendous amount of time and effort. 

The service will cost about $1,828 from January 2023 through June 2024. 

Budgeting

At the January Regular School Board meeting the Board will be asked to adopt a resolution directing the superintendent to make recommendations for adjustments in curriculum, programs, and staff for the following school year, if needed. 

Administration and department leads have already been asked to begin looking at possibilities. There will be many meetings over the next two months to review student enrollment projections, long term facilities maintenance, curricular offerings, and staffing needs. 

MSBA Leadership Conference 2023 – January 12-13

All School Board members have been registered for conference and hotel reservations made as requested. In addition to the Keynote speakers at the General Sessions there are many opportunities to learn through roundtable sessions and workshops. Visiting the exhibitors and networking can also be valuable. 

New Board member Brad Ost and I will be attending the pre-conference School Finance and Management: Phase II Workshop on Wednesday, January 11. I will also be attending the Early Bird Session: The ABC’s of Negotiations. 

Wishing everyone a Happy and Successful New Year!

 

Peter E. Haapala, Interim Superintendent

“If we create a culture where every teacher (employee) believes they need to improve, not because they are not good enough but because they can be even better, there is no limit to what we can achieve.” —Dylan William