BEA High School principal Conan Schaffer explains the proposed class schedule changes at last Monday’s board meeting.

Big changes may be coming to Blue Earth Area schools in the coming years, including a decision on the fate of the PreK-7th grade building and a new seven-period day schedule for the high school. Both of these potential updates were discussed at the BEA School Board meeting on Monday night, Feb. 10.

The issue of the aging PreK-7th grade building is nothing new. Last year, the School Board worked closely with ISG to determine the cost of demolishing the old building and constructing a new PreK-6th grade building, along with a series of renovations to the existing high school building. This initial proposal, priced at $66.845 million dollars, was voted on by the board in July 2024 and put forth on the ballot of the Nov. 6th general election.

According to the November election results, public opinion was strongly against the construction of a new PreK-6th grade building, and the proposal was brought back to the Board for further revision. Now, the Board has created two new proposals on what to do about the PreK-7th grade building, which are once again up for public comment.

The first proposal comprises a $35 million series of infrastructure repairs to the PreK-7th grade building, with an emphasis on taking care of the most important projects first. While the external appearance of the building would not change, much of the school’s infrastructure would be up for repair and replacement, such as the rusted-out water pipes and asbestos-contaminated insulation in the walls.

“We wouldn’t be making any cosmetic changes to the building,” Superintendent Fletcher says. “Rather, our focus would be on making necessary repairs. We’ve already seen the damage faulty infrastructure can cause if left untreated – we had a rusted water pipe burst not too long ago, and it was only thanks to our custodial staff that we were able to patch that leak and have it repaired in time for our students to return to school the next day.”

The second proposal is a heavily scaled-back revision of the initial proposal put forth in November of last year: build a new PreK-6th grade building and renovate the high school. Originally priced at $66.845 million dollars, several projects have been removed to drop the estimated price down to $58.7 million dollars while still accounting for inflation.

Among the projects that have been removed to cut costs are an HVAC indoor air quality project (approx. $8-10 million), secure entry for the high school building (approx. $1 million), and an additional gymnasium/gymnastics/multipurpose space (approx. $4 million). Allowing for inflation since the last estimate was acquired (estimated 4 percent, or $3 million), that brings the total price of the project to $58.7 million dollars.

Of special note is that the HVAC project may be added back on to the list of projects, as the School Board has the authority to vote it back onto the proposal. Regardless of whether that project is added back via voter approval or board approval, its impact on taxes will remain the same.

The final change that has been made to the second proposal concerns the tax impact of its bond amounts. Rather than the initial proposal of 25 years, the new tax increase schedule has been scaled down to a period of only 20 years.

The BEA School Board is seeking public comment on these updated proposals, and has posted a survey on their website, www.beaschools.org, for residents ages 18 and older to fill out. This survey can be completed either digitally or as a print copy, and the School Board asks that all surveys be submitted or postmarked by March 1.

Also included in Monday night’s agenda was discussion of a new class schedule for BEA High School, presented by principal Conan Schaffer. This updated schedule would see a move away from the current block schedule in favor of a seven-period day schedule, which many schools across the state have already adopted.

“Today’s learners are not the same as they were even five years ago,” Schaffer says. “If we want our students to continue to succeed, we need to be able to adjust our education system to adapt to these changes in how our student body learns.”

The new seven-period day schedule would see a daily schedule of seven periods, consisting of 48-minute classes and two 48-minute lunch periods, one designated for 8-9 graders and the other for 10-12 graders. Wednesdays would still reflect their current early-release schedule, with class periods being shortened to 42 minutes.

“Under this system, most CORE classes would be taught as year-long courses, allowing students to interact with the same teacher for the whole year,” Schaffer explained. “Furthermore, students involved in music would have increased ability to participate in other electives, as they would have a designated class slot for that elective in their day that doesn’t overlap with other desired electives, such as science.”

Under this new class system, credits required to graduate would also be adjusted. CORE classes would be worth one credit, and half-year classes and certain electives would be worth .5 credits. A total of 24 credits would be required for students to graduate, compared to the current 26-credit requirement under the block system.

Among the reasons cited by Schaffer for wanting to switch to this new schedule, continuity of classes was key.

“In the current block schedule, if a student takes a math class in the fall and then can’t schedule another math class until spring of the following year, that’s a huge gap between math classes,” Schaffer says. “Retention of information can be a real problem, especially when state testing season rolls around. With the seven-period day system, students will be in their CORE classes year-round, which should allow for better retention and hopefully make it easier for them at testing time.”

Other reasons cited for the proposed scheduling switch included the ability to better monitor student behaviors and failures, a more flexible schedule for assignments and exams, and catering to the decreasing attention span of students, which current studies show only lasts for 10-15 minutes at a time.

“Attempts have been made in the past to try and adjust the block schedule system to better fit the needs of our staff and students, but none of them have proven satisfactory,” Schaffer admitted. “My hope is that, with this new system, both our staff and students will be able to have the flexibility of schedule that they want.”

No plans have been made by the School Board at this time to vote on implementing this proposed schedule change.

Also discussed at the School Board meeting:

• Superintendent Fletcher gave a legislative update, expressing concern for several areas of district funding facing potential cuts, including compensatory funding, special education transportation reimbursement, Q Comp, and unemployment insurance.

• Student members of the School Board reported that the Snow Week dance went well, with high student engagement.

• The Faribault County Register was approved as the official District newspaper.

• The 2025-2026 school year calendar was approved.

• Personnel changes were all unanimously approved, including the hiring of Mark Franta as a long-term substitute teacher and a contract extension with Fiscal Services Coordinator Alan Wilhelmi for 2025-26.

• Curriculum/Instruction Director Allison Schmidt requested a MCA testing schedule change for eighth grade students who took math early, moving their mathematics MCA testing period to March. This request was approved.