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USC receives update on State Legislature

By Kevin Mertens - Staff Writer | Apr 23, 2023

The United South Central School Board needed less than 20 minutes to complete their business at their regular meeting on Tuesday, April 18.

During his report to the board, superintendent Keith Fleming shared there was a lot of concern among fellow superintendents in the South Central Cooperative about what is being proposed at the Minnesota State Legislature.

“There are proposals for a number of unfunded or under-funded mandates related to labor issues,” Fleming said. “The hope is that the legislature will realize some of these proposals are not financially feasible.”

On a brighter note, board chairman Mike Schrader mentioned he was pleased the USC Education Foundation was able to raise somewhere around $27,000 during their recent fundraising event, the Rebel Bash.

“The USC staff completed their Spring Wellness Challenge,” high school principal Jen Bye reported. “The staff is working on healthier habits as we move into spring.”

Bye also told board members about an FFA regional competition hosted by the USC FFA.

“There were over 25 schools from the region competing and I am proud to report that all three USC teams qualified for the State FFA contest which will be held in St. Paul on April 23-25.”

Bye shared that USC students will be participating in a Community Service and Wellness day on May 3.

“Students will help with community cleanup projects, learn about social-emotional wellness and participate in various wellness classes during the day,” Bye said.

Bye reported that enrollment for grades 7-12 was 373 which was down three students from last month.

“MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment) testing is in full swing throughout both our elementary and high school grades,” elementary principal Jennifer Taylor commented. “The juniors took their ACT test on April 4.”

Taylor noted there are many field trips planned for students in the younger grades, including a trip to the Fairmont Opera House for some grades and a chance to go fishing for the second graders.

“The kids are really excited to have these opportunities.” Taylor said. “I can also report there were 56 youngsters who attended kindergarten roundup at USC.”

During the business portion of the meeting, the board accepted the resignations/retirements of eight teachers including preschool teacher Luann Baumann, paraprofessional Samantha Buendorf, second grade teacher Karen Carlson, paraprofessional Amy Kosbab, English teacher Robert Routh, kindergarten teacher Mikayla Wegner and bus drivers Linda Stern and Richard Theede.

The board also passed a resolution to not renew the contract of probationary teacher Randall Muske.

The board also:

• Voted to purchase a new 2023 Chrysler Pacifica 7-passenger minivan for $42,369.

• Approved the proposed 2023-24 Capital Outlay Budget.