Keys to Life

Kailyn Warne, a Delano Middle School student and Gwen Breisemeister, the Districts Talent Development Coordinator, collaborated to create the film "Keys to Life," which screened at the Filmanthropist Film Festival at the West End Theaters on December 11.  The film highlights Kailyn's involvement in creating original music CDs to raise money for Relay for Life, an organization that raises money for cancer research. Here is the link to the film: http://vimeo.com/17751167

School Board Member Appointed

At the December 20 meeting the school board appointed Sarah Baker to fill the unexpired term of Patricia Osman. Sarah Baker will serve until December 2012. A two-year position will be on the ballot in November of 2012. The board interviewed seven candidates the week before.

Sarah has been actively involved with the Delano Elementary School PIE group for the past three years and currently serves as co-President. She has also been a parent representative on the Delano Elementary Site Base Committee for three years.

The school board's organizational meeting is January 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Delano City Hall. One item of business will be the swearing in of the appointed member and recently elected members which will include Sarah Baker, Erica Frake, Carolyn Milano, Lisa Seguin, and Tim Douglas.

Cool in School: Destination Imagination

A story on Delano's Destination Imagination appeared on KARE 11 News. Click here for the article and then play the video in the upper right hand corner.

Winning Essay for Walter Grotz Essay Scholarship Contest by Robyn Perry

Opening on School Board

An opening has been created on the school board due to the resignation of Patricia Osmon who is moving out of the school district. The school board will accept applications for this two year position that will serve until December 2012. A two-year position will be on the ballot at the 2012 election. Applications are available by clicking here. The applications are due in the district office by December 8 at 4:00 p.m.

Community Education

A great video telling the story of Delano Community Education is now available by clicking here.

Jane Larter, School Nurse of the Year

Jane Larter, our Licensed School Nurse, was named School Nurse of the Year on November 13 by the March of Dimes.

According to a news release from the March of Dimes, Jane "was honored for creating a model of school nursing that supports high-quality student services and promotes wellness for both students and staff. She is recognized for advocating for students with special needs and promoting wellness by providing health information to families and staff."

Congratulations!

Emergency School Closing Information

Winter will soon be upon us. School may be closed for the day, started late or dismissed early due to weather conditions or other emergency situations. Families are encouraged to have a plan in place should a change in the school day occur. Changes in the school day will be called into the following media outlets.

WCCO Television – Channel 4

KSTP Television –   Channel 5

KMSP Television – Channel 9

KARE Television – Channel 11

WCCO Radio 830 AM

Families will also receive a phone call and email from the school’s instant notification system if an emergency closing occurs.

Surplus Property for Sale

Delano Public Schools has various surplus property for sale, including the following:

·            Overhead projectors (20)

·            Overhead Projector carts (9)

·            Other carts (7)

·            Computer monitors (4)

·            Camera Monitors (2)

·            VCRs (4)

·            Televisions

·            Recumbent bikes (2)

·            VHS Cameras (3)

·            Used man-lift

·            Study Carrels

·            Wood chairs

·            Copy machine

Anyone interested in these items call 763-972-3365 x2111.

1981 Ford Tractor with nearly new front mounted brush and rear mount snowblower in good working condition.  Sealed bids will be accepted at the District Office until 12:00 noon on Friday, November 19, 2010.  This unit has a trade-in value of $5,000. The School District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids. Call 763-972-3365 x2111 to inspect this equipment.

Veteran's Day

Delano Middle School and High School will again be hosting a Veteran’s Day Program on Thursday, November 11 beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the Tiger Activity Center. The winners of the “Patriot Pen” contest, a writing contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars for 7^th and 8^th grade students, will be announced. We will also recognize the winners of the Walter Grotz Essay Scholarship Contest sponsored by WWII Veteran and former Prisoner of War, Walter Grotz. This year’s speaker will be Major Patricia Osmon who is a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and also a school board member. The public, along with all veterans, are invited to the program. 

Bussing will be provided for Veterans from the American Legion at 9:00 a.m.

Proposed Tax Levy Information

At the September 27 school board meeting, the school board approved its proposed tax levy for 2010 taxes payable in 2011. Click here for the proposed levy information. In accordance with state law, the school board will discuss the budget and tax levy at its December 20 school board meeting that will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Delano Middle School Media Center. (The meeting is held at the school because City Hall is not available so the meeting will not be televised live.)

You will notice a significant decline in the school portion of the property tax notice. This is due to a decrease in the debt service which is brought about by the pay-off of some previously issued bonds for facilities. The total decrease in the levy is $527,403 or 9.74%. If the pay-off of the bonds did not take place the levy would have increased by 1%. This will translate to a savings of about $49 per $100,000 of taxable value on residential homestead property.

Property owners will receive by mail a notice of their proposed property tax and notice of the above mentioned meeting between November 10 and November 25. Click here for a booklet titled Understanding Your Property Taxes, 2010 Edition for Taxes Payable in 2010. This publication can be of assistance in undersanding property taxes.

Another publication that is available is Fourteen Reasons Why Property Taxes Vary from Year to Year, which is also helpful in trying to understand why property taxes change.

China Visitors

We are very happy to be hosting visitors from our sister school in China, Zi Yun High School in Tanggu, this week. There are 12 students, three directors and one teacher that are hosted by Delano students, their families and Delano staff members.

                 Standing L-R: Mi Shuangjie and Meng Lingcai.
Seated L-R: Zhang Wenyan, John Sweet and Yu Yang

Education Jobs Fund Legislation

The Ed Jobs Fund bill was authorized by Congress in August. The purpose of the legislation is to save or create education jobs for the 2010-11 school year. This is one-time funding and the funds can be carried over to the 2011-12 school year. Delano Schools is authorized to receive $426,414 in one-time money under this legislation.

The School District intends to spend these dollars in a very prudent manner with an eye to the fiscal unknowns of the near future. A sixth grade teacher was added to reduce class sizes from 30 to 25. A part-time art position in the middle school was increased to full-time in order to provide one more grade with an art experience and to relieve the high school art teacher of a middle school assignment so he has time to work with high school independent study art students. A part-time vocal music teacher was added to the middle school to reduce choir sizes to a more manageable level. An Elementary Curriculum/Assessment Coordinator is also being added to assist the elementary school in the areas of curriculum, testing, and a myriad of other duties associated with a building containing 804 students and 94 employees, the highest number of any building in the district.

During the current fiscal year the School District is operating on approximately $430,000 of one-time funds that will not be available next year. It is the intent to carry over a portion of the Ed Jobs Funds to next year as a cushion for the one-time funds being utilized this year.

Gubernatorial Candidates

The upcoming election in November could define the future of education for Delano students and all students in Minnesota. Click on the candidate to see his position on education:

Tom Emmer                          Mark Dayton                           Tom Horner

6th Annual DAEF Trapshoot

The Delano Area Educational Foundation will be hosting its 6th Annual Benefit Trapshoot on Saturday, September 11 at Park Gun Club, which is located near the intersection of County Rd 6 and Highway 12, from 1:00p - 5:00p.

The registration fee is $40 for adults (includes one event), $20 for students and $10 per event after the initial shooting event.

There are door prizes, silent auction, burgers, brats and other refreshments included in the registration fee.

For further information contact Larry Hutchins at 612.518.3113, Mike Gallagher at 612.386.8830 or John Sweet at 763.972.3365 ext 2115.

Welcome New Teachers!

Today we welcomed 16 new teachers to the Delano School District: Katherine Berggren, grade 4; Cortney Bongard, elementary speech pathologist; Andrew Beard, high school/middle school vocal music; Katie Beshears, Spanish; Jennifer Froehlich, high school special education; Jeremy Wenzel, high school social studies; Amy Larson, middle school/high school special education; Jason Monke, high school science; Laura Barto, high school special education; Kiz Gorham, middle school math; Sean Roff, physical education/health/adaptive physical education; Kylee Knutson, grade 6; Tasha Reitenour, middle school special education; Kelley White, grade 5; Seth Potter, physical education; Rachael Anderson, middle school art.

Back to school tax savings!

Under the K-12 Education Tax Credit and K-12 Education Subtraction program parents can claim a tax savings or subtraction by saving receipts for school supplies and other education related expenses. Click here for further information.

ACT Scores

The ACT (American College Test) is the test high school students take for college adminissions. The seniors who graduated this past spring did exceedingly well on the test with an average composite score of 24.2. The state average was 22.9. Click here for the entire report.

Board Candidate Filings

Five candidates have filed for the five open positions on the school board:

2 - year terms: Carolyn Milano (incumbent) and Erica Frake

4 - year terms: Tim Douglas (incumbent), Lisa Seguin (incumbent), and Patricia Osmon (incumbent).

Parking Lot Construction Underway

Construction on the parking lot across the street west of the elementary began the week of July 26. Completion date is September 3. This lot will accomodate 80 vehicles and will relieve the parking problem on Elm Avenue during the school day. It will also serve as parking for elementary school events, hockey arena parking, soccer, softball and football parking.

Activities Director Named

Mike Lindquist, a Delano Middle School art and physical education teacher, is being named as the activities director for Delano Schools.

Mr. Lindquist is uniquely qualified for this position. He has 25 years of teaching and coaching experience, 23 years at Delano Middle School. His coaching experience and experience in the visual arts gives him a broad perspective of the total activities program, which doesn't just include athletics.

In addition to his duties with the school district he has been a very active member of the community as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, Downtown Revitalization Task Force, Highway 12 Bridge and Aesthetics Task Force, and other projects.

He will continue as head girls soccer coach for the upcoming season only. The district will be looking for a new girls soccer coach for next year and a head boys track for the coming season.

He replaces Joe Haas who was recently named the assistant middle school principal.

School Board Election Information

There are five open seats for the school board that will be voted on in the November 2, 2010 election. There are three four-year terms and two two-year terms open. Candidates must choose to run for either a four-year or two-year position.

Affidavits of candidacy are available here, or at the District Office located at Delano High School, 700 Elm Av East. The first day to file the affidavit is August 3 and it must be turned in to the District Office  by 5:00 p.m. on August 17.

For more information contact the superintendent's office at 763-972-3365 ext 2111.

Parking Lot

On Friday, July 16, the school board held a special meeting for the purpose of considering bids for the parking lot. The board previously rejected bids and then re-bid the project.

Omann Brothers had the low base bid for a 40 space lot at $97,250. The board accepted an alternate in the amount of $49,150 to expand it to 80 spaces. An alternate to repair Tiger Drive was also accepted in the amount of $18,000.

The parking lot will be located across the street west of Delano Elementary and the completion date is September 3.

Welcome China Visitors

This week, July 12, we welcome visitors from our sister school, Tianjin Zi Yun High School in Tanggu, China. This program is the cornerstone of our long-term educational partnership for the benefit of both our schools and is led by our China Club, which is made up of students, teachers, and parents. Extensive plans have been made to give our visitors a taste of life in America, Delano and the Twin Cities area.

Our visitors include the following students: Zhao Hui, Li Muyao, Yu Miao, Li Man, Li Xuyang and Zhou Xinyi. And the following adults: Su Guolian, Director; Yang Xuebi, Director; and Ren Xiue, Teacher.

Click here for pictures

Test Scores and QComp Goal Met

I am very pleased to announce that the QComp (Quality Compensation) goals were met for the 2009-10 school year. Our teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, students and parents are all to be congratulated for their great work. 

Mid-Summers Night Street Dance

The Delano Area Educational Foundation, in cooperation with the Delano Lions and Delano Jaycees, are sponsoring a street dance on July 24 beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Bridge Street in Delano. Proceeds from this event go to the Foundation.

Tickets are $10.00 in advance and can be purchased at State Bank of Delano, 3 Crows, Crow River State Bank, Coborn's or on line by clicking here

I hope to see you at the dance!

Walter Grotz Scholarship Essay Contest

Walter Grotz, a World War II Veteran and former prisoner of war, is sponsoring a scholarship essay contest that is open to seniors graduating in 2011. Click here for information and entry form.

"Thousands Might Not Graduate..."

...that was the headline in yesterday's Startribune. All Delano High School seniors have passed the GRAD tests referred to in this article.

It is also worth noting that Delano High School met it's QComp (Quality Compensation) goal for the year. That goal was to increase the percent of students who meet or exceed the math standard on the Minnesota Comphrehensive Achievement Tests II from 68% in grade 8 to 70%. The goal was met with 71.3% of the students meeting or exceeding the standard.

School Board Election Information

The school board has five positions up for election at the November 2, 2010 General Election, two - 2 year terms and three - 4 year terms. For details regarding the timelines click here

Funding Cliff

The latest school finance term is "funding cliff." This defines the financial situation school districts will be in as reserves, one time dollars, one time solutions and all the proposed legislative solutions combined do not solve the state's financial problems.

The attached article gives a summation as to where we are headed in the next biennium. Please note this article was written prior to the Supreme Courts decision regarding the unallotment that was done to balance the budget. This action leads to an additional $3B shortfall on top of what is written about in the attached article.

May 1 Update

I would like to recognize six teachers who are retiring this year: Sharon Keller, 5th grade, 39 years of service; Gail Savage, special education, 38 years of service; John Zerull, social studies, 38 years of service; Jan Christophersen, 4th grade, 31 years of service; Brad Hagen, vocal music, 31 years of service; Leo Popischal, special education, 24 years of service. (Leo is leaving the district to finish his career teaching in China); Barb Stevens, paraprofessional 13 years of service. These staff members have all made great contributions to the education of students at Delano Public Schools and I congratulate them on their contributions and retirement.

We will also be missing seven other teachers who are leaving the district at the end of the year and we appreciate their contributions as well: Melissa Baker, high school science; Aileen Cahill, grade 4; Quinn Ebert, middle school math; Jesse Hackenmueller, middle school physical education; Rochelle Lindberg, grade 6; Amy Kelly, high school special education; and Dr. Aixue Wang, Chinese.

At the school board meeting on April 26 the board approved adding Chinese language to our online offerings as an alternative to hiring a full or part-time teacher to accommodate the students with interests in Chinese language and culture. This action was preceded by a great presentation on the trip student and faculty made during spring break to our sister school in China. We will again have visitors from Tanguu, China in June.

In other action at the April 26 meeting the board gave approval for the design of a parking lot at 789 Tiger Drive, across the street from Delano Elementary with about 64 parking spaces. This is in response to concerns about students parking on Elm Avenue. There are several advantages to placing a parking lot at this location. 1) It will serve a future building at the site and 2) it will provide over-flow parking for the elementary and hockey arena. This was the preferred site after consulting with students and residents of Elm Avenue. If things go as planned the board will consider bids for this project at the June 28 meeting with completion about August 13. This will be funded from the Capital Outlay Fund reserve with an estimated budget of $120,000.

As the school year begins to draw to a close we reflect on all the great work of our students and staff as well as the great support they receive from parents. Thank you for a great school year.

John Sweet, Superintendent

Follow Up to Threat

At the end of the school day on Monday the Wright County Sheriff's Department, with the assistance of a State Trooper and bomb sniffing dog, did a thorough search of the middle school and high school. No bomb was found.

Today all students and staff were given a search similiar to what you experience at the Metrodome or Target Field. No contraband was found.

We are having discussion about the advisability of holding these bag searches on a random basis throughout the school year to impress on people that we are taking measures to keep the school buildings safe.

NOTICE

Today a note was found written on tissue paper in one of the bathrooms in the high school with the word “bomb” written on it. Wright County authorities were immediately notified and an investigation is underway. Wright County authorities believe this to be a very low level threat, however all threats are taken seriously and precautionary measures are being taken.

At the close of school today Delano Middle School, Delano High School and the Tiger Activity Center will be closed until 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday so that Wright County authorities can conduct a thorough search of both the Middle School and High School. This action does not include Delano Elementary or the Community Education Building.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, April 20) all students and staff at the Middle School and High School will go through a routine bag search with law enforcement and school officials stationed at each of the entrances beginning at 7:00 a.m.

Delano Middle School and High School students are receiving a letter at the end of the day today explaining where to enter the building on Tuesday.

As a reminder, Delano High School will be conducting a mock car crash at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday on Tiger Drive. This event will include the presence of a number of emergency vehicles including a helicopter.

I thank everyone for their patience as we deal with the safety concerns on the campus.

Parking on Elm

The School District and the City of Delano have been receiving complaints about high school students parking on Elm Avenue. The problem stems from not having enough parking on campus for high school students that drive to school. The problem increases as the year goes on as more students become eligible to drive.

Various solutions to the problem have been discussed, including constructing additional parking at one of three locations: the corner of Elm Avenue and Tiger Drive near the entrance to the middle school/high school; a block east of Tiger Drive on Elm Avenue where the School district owns a lot; and at 789 Tiger Drive across the street west of the elementary school. All of these solutions come with a price tag ranging from about $58,000 to gravel space up to $193,000 for blacktop, curb and gutter, depending on which of the three locations is chosen.

School and City representatives will meet with residents of Elm Avenue and any other interested persons on Tuesday, April 13 at 5:00 p.m. in the high school cafeteria to discuss the problem and all the various ideas for solutions, which are not all limited to constructing additional space.

School Facility Needs

The board’s building and grounds committee has identified several high priority needs that were part of the last bond issue election in 2008. The school board as a whole continues to discuss the school facility needs of the district at special and regular meetings. All the buildings have exceeded their enrollment capacity and issues continue to exist.

The high priority needs that are under discussion include the following:
1) Improve security at the main entrance of the elementary building; cabinetry to finish four existing classrooms; and repurpose the multi-purpose rooms to classrooms. Estimated cost is $99,700.
2)Add two additional music rooms to be shared by middle school and high school. Estimated cost is $1,062,000.
3)Add two additional science rooms at the high school. Estimated cost is $818,000.
4)Add 50 parking spaces at the middle school/high school. Estimated cost is $100,000.

The total cost of these needs is approximately $2,075,000. The yearly tax impact on a residential homestead property would be about $15.00 per $100,000 of taxable value and $22.000 per $100,000 on commercial property.

The board is sensitive to the economic climate as well as the needs of students. Discussion will continue regarding the needs and the viability of placing this on the ballot in November 2010.

Post your comments, questions or suggestions here.

Early Dismissal February 8

The elmentary will dismiss at 1:00 pm. today and the middle school/high school will dismiss at 1:15p.

Community Education (art, legos, Middle Mania) after-school events cancelled.
Tiger Kids Club will remain open; we ask that parents pick up their children up as early as possible.
Tiger Activity Center will close at 5:00 p.m.

Buildings and Grounds Committee Reports to Board

The school board's Buildings and Grounds Committee reported to the school board at the January 25 meeting regarding several meetings held. The committee is suggesting that the following are the high priority needs of the district at this time:

Elementary: Improve security at main entrance $35,000
Cabinetry to finish four existing rooms $20,200
Re-purpose two multi-purpose rooms $44,500

Middle School/High School: Two music rooms $1,062,000

High School: Two science classrooms $818,900
Add 50 parking spaces $100,000

Total Cost High Priority $2,079,700

Tax Impact (estimated): Approx. $15.00/$100,000 tax value residential
Approx. $22.00/$100,000 tax value commercial

A need also exists for a larger auditorium. An 800 seat auditorium placed on the southeast side of the Tiger Activity Center would cost $4,171,200

The committee reported that it is sensitive to the current economic conditions. The board will study the facilities situation as all buildings are beyond capacity.

"State Hits Up Schools for Loans"

That was the headline in today's Twin Cities + West edition of the Star Tribune. News regarding education mostly revolves around school funding issues and the state’s unprecedented budgetary problems. We would rather see news regarding student achievement and the great work our students and staff are doing. The reality of the unprecedented financial situation that the state and our schools face cannot be ignored, however.

The latest news involves state aid payment delays that are required when the state runs into cash flow problems. By law, “The state must first delay state aid payments to the maximum extent allowable before engaging in state short term borrowing,” according to a memo received on January 26 from Alice Seagren, Commissioner of Education.

According to the memo received from the Commissioner, state aid payments will be delayed on March 15, March 30 and April 15. The estimated total payment delay for all the schools in the state is $423.3 million. The delayed payments are required to be paid back to schools in full on May 30, 2010. This situation will require many Minnesota school districts to enter into short-term borrowing to cash flow their districts during this time. For Delano Schools the delay is estimated to amount to $1,960,407 for the March 15, 30 and April 15 payments. The school district will be able to cash flow itself during this period with the reserves that it has on hand.

This aid payment delay should not be confused with the payment shift that was put in place where the state delays 27% of the aid due in the current fiscal year to the next fiscal year. The shift causes another cash flow concern to school districts. Delano School District should be able to cash flow both the delay and the shift this time around.

School districts are sometimes criticized for carrying healthy fund balances. If there was ever a time when fund balances are needed for cash flow purposes, it is now. The other advantage is that the fund balance gives us time to respond to these unprecedented actions without immediate harm to the educational program or incurring the expense of short-term borrowing.

I look forward to the days when more of the headlines in the news are about all the positive things that are going on in our schools.

Board Names New Member

School Board members for 2010: front L-R: Tim Douglas, Peter Brasket, Carolyn Milano, Patricia Osmon, back L-R: Joy Bodin, Lisa Seguin and Amy Johnson


At the January 25 board meeting Patricia Osmon was appointed to fill the vacancy created by Becky Schaust's resignation.

Patricia holds a BA from Bates College and both a Masters and Doctorate from Baylor University She is a Pediatric Physical Therapist having spent three and a half years working for the SW/WC Service Cooperative out of Wilmar, MN before relocating to Delano.

In her letter of application she stated "After meeting with many different school districts stretching over a 100 mile area, public and private, my family relocated to Delano."

Vacancy on School Board

At the January 4, 2010 organizational meeting of the school board the board accepted the resignation of board member Becky Schaust. This opening will be filled by appointment by the school board. Persons interested in being considered for this position need to file an application at the District Office by 2:0o p.m on Friday, January 15, 2010. Application forms are available here. The person appointed will serve until December 31, 2010. A four-year position will be on the ballot at the school board election in November 2010.