BEA technology coordinator Stacy Haase points to where the District Strategic Roadmap can now be found on the BEA Schools website.

A discussion item presented by Blue Earth Area School Board chair Sara Hauskins during her chairperson’s report at last Monday’s, Feb. 9, BEA School Board meeting, sparked a serious discussion about the future.

Hauskins was giving an update on a board work session held on Jan. 22, that dealt with the condition of the facilities (buildings) at Blue Earth Area.

The question became, does the board want to ask for a bond to build a brand new school or one to do extensive repair and remodeling of the older buildings.

After a recap of the facilities committee meeting by board member Gary Armon, board member Kyle Zierke summed it up.

“The question is how much do we want to invest in buildings that are as much as 100 years old,” Zierke said. “It will take $42 million to make required repairs and updates to the K-7 building. Or it will take $63 million for a whole new building.”

Board members also discussed the possibility of having a bond referendum question on a ballot this August. Superintendent Mandy Fletcher said that while no formal action was needed at this meeting, she would proceed with getting the materials together that are needed to get the question on a ballot.

School Board member Stacy Beyer said that it had been discussed that the project costs could be as much as 10 percent higher now, as when the board first had a bond question on the ballot, which failed to pass.

“We can’t push this further down the road,” Beyer said. “We need to look at this August time frame.”

Armon added that issues with parking, student drop-off and pick-up, security and safety inside the building and out, are also serious concerns that need to be addressed.

During the action items at the meeting the board approved the 2026-2027 Master Agreement with the Blue Earth Area Education Association, but not without some discussion.

The agreement calls for an overall salary increase of 5.756 percent over the two years of the contract.

The question from the board addressed the low pay for starting teachers, compared to other districts in the area, and the fact that sometimes when a position is hard to fill, some starting teachers get a higher starting salary.

Some board members were concerned about past hard feelings among teachers when this happens. However, it is sometimes necessary to fill positions and other teachers are aware of this, superintendent Mandy Fletcher said.

The vote for the new Master Agreement was 6-0, with board member Zierke abstaining, due to having a family member employed by the district.

The School Board members also took a “tour “of the School District’s website during their meeting on Monday, Feb. 9.

Technology coordinator Stacy Haase gave the board members a look at the website during her presentation.

“Our goal was to get our Strategic Plan on to our website,” Haase told the board members. “The site also has a place for Telling Our Story.”

Besides the Strategic Plan there is other information, including plenty of photos of kids, the district newsletter, the superintendent’s column and some larger articles.

“We have an ‘Alumni Spotlight’ space with stories about our great alumni,” Haase says, “We only have two so far, but we plan on having more.”

Brenda Millmann, the Community Engagement coordinator, also gave a presentation about the board needing to approve the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (AIPAC) annual compliance report.

“This is in accordance with a state statute passed in 2019, and changed in 2023,” Millmann told the board members. “When districts have 10 or more students who identify as Native American, we need to have a Parent Advisory Committee and do the report.”

When asked by a board member how many students are at BEA who identify as Indian, Millmann said there are 15 at BEA this year.

“If we have 20 or more, then we qualify for some funding,” she added.

The board approved the report.

In other business at the meeting, the BEA School Board:

• Approved the seniority list for the non-certified staff, as well as the seniority list for the certified staff. Also approved was the list of the spring sports coaches.

• Approved the purchase of K-5 ELA arts and letters curriculum at a cost of $174,535.13.

• Discussed a work session that was held on Jan. 22, which dealt with discussion of the building issues and whether to proceed with repairs or look at construction of a new building.

• Heard reports from the principals and others that included information on an upcoming Donkey Ball game on Feb. 20, conferences coming up and roller skating at Pemberton on Feb. 21 and 22.

• Approved changing the date of the March School Board meeting to Wednesday, March 11, at 6 p.m. due to conflicts with the regular date.

• Heard a request from resident Stephanie Walter during public comment, who asked the board to reconsider the rule that students cannot hand out invitations to things like birthday parties during class time.

• Approved donations to the BUCCY Backpack program from Delavan Fire Department, Craig and Kate Maloney, North Blue Earth Lutheran Church and Compeer Financial.

Approved personnel changes which included: new hires of long term guest teachers Barbara Carlson, Brenda Smith and Kristine Viessleman, and paraprofessional Antonia Romero; retirement of Sue Schoenfelder effective May 29, after 23 years of teaching at BEA; resignation of paraprofessional Ava Johnson; termination of paraprofessional Tandi Huisenga; lane changes for Trinity Finn, JoAnna Helgeson and Katie Mullaly.