United South Central School Board chairman Mike Schrader, left, and superintendent Taylor Topinka, right, listen to a report during the board meeting held in Easton on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

United South Central superintendent Taylor Topinka received a positive evaluation from the School Board for his performance at his job during the past year.

“School Board members were given 16 questions to answer regarding superintendent Topinka’s performance in different areas,” board chairman Mike Schrader reported. “He was ranked 1-5 in each category with one being the lowest score and five being the highest.”

Schrader went on to say that Topinka had scored high in every category.

“When all of the numbers were added up, he had a composite average of 4.75,” Schrader added. “We are very glad to have you here and we look forward to working with you in the future.”

Topinka thanked the board for their support and said there is still room for him to improve.

“I’m sure if you would have given the evaluation sheet to my secretary, her scores would have brought my average down,” he said laughing.

During his report to the board, Topinka touched on a number of items.

“It is hard to believe we are past the halfway point in the school year,” he commented. “While we stay focused on making the most of the time we have left with our students, it’s always exciting to start thinking about summer projects and what’s next for our school.”

One of the things Topinka wanted to talk about was the Facilities Task Force which began meeting at the end of January.

“A major takeaway from our first meeting was the need to communicate better that our enrollment is now increasing,” Topinka shared. “Many of the task force members were surprised by that.”

Topinka said the group was impressed with the steps USC has already taken to maximize the existing space the school has.

“There is also a general openness to exploring options of what else can be done,” he said. “At our next meeting we will be focusing on generating and evaluating potential solutions to the problems our increasing enrollment is creating. Our goal will be to eventually come up with one option to bring back to the School Board.”

Topinka also mentioned that the State Legislature is back in session.

“There are currently over 1,000 bills circulating for consideration, which is not ideal,” he explained. “We are in a legislative budget year and there is already a strong probability of an extended, special legislative session with the final budget potentially being pushed well past the start of our fiscal year.”

Topinka noted that schools depend heavily on the state’s budget and its ability to get the information to the schools promptly.

“Our district budget must be approved by June 30, and for us, the upcoming school year starts well before we get to the first days of school,” he said. “May 19th marks the official end of the regular legislative session.”

Topinka shared that the district’s education association groups continue to advocate for consideration of some rethought toward Earned Days and Sick Time, as well as the upcoming family Medical Leave Act, which begins in January of 2026.

“With the historic funding we received as part of the last legislative biennium, there are still many mandates and pieces of legislation for USC to enact that are still major, ongoing expenses to our district,” Topinka commented.

The board discussed both long-term and short-term maintenance items during the meeting.

Topinka told board members that Hallberg Engineering performed a comprehensive review of the school building’s major mechanical systems.

“As we conclude our 11th year in this building, Hallberg estimates that we can expect 7-10 more years of life out of our main rooftop HVAC units,” Topinka remarked. “This will be a major expense to replace in its entirety and something we need to begin planning for. Our domestic hot water heating system is also nearing end-of-life and this is something we will look to build into our Long Term Facilities Maintenance plan for replacement over the summer of 2027.”

Another upgrade which is being made sooner involves the school’s phone system and the board approved transferring $15,000 from restricted operating capital to phone system replacement set-aside funds for the current fiscal year to help cover the cost of the phone system replacement.

The board also approved the purchase of a 77-passenger bus from North Central International DBA Hoglund Bus Company. The total cost of the bus after allowing for trade-in of a current USC bus is $155,236.

“This bus won’t arrive until the next school year,” Topinka reminded the board. “We will keep the bus we are trading in until the new one comes.”

The board also debuted USC’s new mission statement which reads, “We empower students to reach their full potential through supportive and engaging school experiences, inspiring them to be lifelong learners and responsible citizens.”

Two USC High School students, Lillian Lutteke and Reyna Gallardo attended the meeting to share with the board the persuasive essays they each had prepared as part of their English class.

Technology integration teacher Tyler Hintz attended the meeting and told the board that much of the technology infrastructure has been updated in the building which should lead to the improved performance of devices.

“I can also report that the new Chromebooks have been ordered,” Hintz said. “We also did some house cleaning and were able to throw away some old equipment that hasn’t been used for some time.”

Elementary principal Jennifer Taylor reported that the planning for Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments test is in full swing.

“Teachers are completing their annual training to become certified proctor,” Taylor said. “We are currently working on room assignments, which can be complex due to space limitations when some students need to test in a 1:1 setting.”

Taylor shared that enrollment for K-6 grades remained steady at 386 students.

High school principal Jen Bye shared that the USC Mock Trial team finished up their season on Feb. 7.

“USC was victorious over Lakeview High School by a score of 204-194,” Bye commented. “The USC Speech team is also off to a strong start. We will host the USC Rebel Rouser meet on Saturday, March 1.”

The School Board also:

• Approved the final 2024-2025 seniority lists.

• Had the first reading of USC board policies No. 1030, 1040 and 2010.

• Approved a reauthorization of the 2020 version of USC board policy 5220 (Title IX Sex Nondiscrimination Policy, Grievance Procedure, and Process) corresponding to changes in the federal government’s Title IX process.