BAXTER — Dates are set for community members to give input on the new strategic plan at Brainerd Public Schools.
Meetings with various community groups will take place March 2, 3, 7 and April 11. The input gathered at the meetings will be used to form a new strategic plan for the district. School Board members hired PartnerED earlier this year to take on the project, which will result in a document to address community values, district operations, board/superintendent relationships and operational expectations for the district. Having a strategic plan also serves state legal requirements.
School Board members approved a slate of community meetings Monday, Feb. 13. The listening sessions — open to all members of the public — will take place from 4-5 p.m. and from 6-7 p.m. Thursday, March 2; Friday, March 3; Tuesday, March 7; and Tuesday, April 11. They will all be in the big conference room at Brainerd High School and can be attended virtually or in person.
Student and staff groups will be appointed to meet during the day March 2 and 3, and a group of business and community leaders will meet over the lunch hour March 3.
A communitywide survey will come out between March 7-14 to gather further input.
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On March 8, Superintendent Heidi Hahn said a call will go out for people to sign up to be a part of the community stakeholder group.
“The community stakeholders are going to be that group of 50-60 individuals that really start to dive into all the data and start developing the plan,” Hahn said.
In other business Monday, the School Board:
Approved new hires: Ashlee Flowers, educational assistant at Forestview Middle School; Nathan Mikkelson, districtwide custodian; Sydney Adkins, districtwide substitute teacher; Samantha Babinski, districtwide substitute teacher; Jeffry Lewis, long-term substitute at Lincoln Education Center; Jordyn Marsh, long-term substitute emotional and behavioral disorders educational assistant at Forestview; Sheryl Stearns, districtwide substitute teacher; James Wimmer, long-term substitute special education teacher at Forestview; Nicholas Benskin, districtwide stage technician; Hailey Borg, event worker at Brainerd High School; Tom Fairbanks, assistant varsity baseball coach at BHS; Bryce Flanagan, lead ninth grade baseball coach at BHS; John McDonald, drivers education instructor at BHS; Matthew Means, assistant ninth grade baseball coach at BHS; Jill Ostendorf, event worker at BHS.
Accepted donations: $638.30 from Shutterfly for student activities at Garfield Elementary; $240 from Costco for student activities at Garfield Elementary.
Approved an extended field trip for Brainerd Learning Center students to attend the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs Stars competition May 4-5 in Mankato.
Approved an extended field trip for a capella choir students to attend a clinic March 30-31 in Waverly, Iowa.
Approved a contract with the city of Baxter for a school resources officer for the 2022-23 school year. The contract approval comes in the middle of the school year because the city of Baxter was waiting on the results of a wage study. Funds for the contract will come out of the district’s Safe Schools fund.
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Approved the first reading of updates to the district’s harassment and violence policy, with the major change being usage of the phrase “protected class” instead of listing out groups like race, class, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
Approved the first reading of updates to the district’s drug free workplace and school policy, with the major change being expansive language to include cannabis products as prohibited substances.
THERESA BOURKE may be reached at theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa .
The Trust Project
