Board offers early retirement incentives

Falls Superintendent Nordy Nelson said while the early retirement incentives will cost the district about $65,800, the overall cost-saving benefits are worth it.

“I appreciate the board’s willingness to (offer the incentives),” he said, adding the vacant positions will not be replaced. “It’ll go a long way in addressing cost adjustments for this year.”

The board is faced with offsetting about $500,000 the district has lost as its enrollment declines. In April, it will decided what programs and/or staff positions it will need to cut to save money and recoup losses.

In addition to the five staff members who will retire this year, the board on a 3-2 vote granted early retirement to three other staff members for the middle and end of the 2014-15 school year.

Board members Willi Kostiuk and Dena Wenberg voted against the motion.

The board approved for early retirement Mary Kay Hardwig, kindergarten teacher, and Onida Kocinski, social studies/history teacher, effective the last day for school of the 2014-15 school year. Early retirement for Jeff Veeder, maintenance director, was also approved, effective Nov. 30, 2015.

Kostiuk requested the board hold discussion on the motion after it successfully passed, however, was told it was too late.

Nelson told The Journal Thursday it is not uncommon for the board to approve early retirement requests more than a year in advance and that “it has happened before.”

“Sometimes a district is reluctant to step out into the future too far, but one year isn’t that bad,” he said.

In other action Tuesday, Falls High Principal Tim Everson said the school continues to work with area colleges to develop more concurrent enrollment — or college offerings in the high school — opportunities for next year.

“Right now, the response has really been overwhelming from staff at the high school as far as interest in teaching these (concurrent enrollment) classes,” he said.

Everson said 41 percent seniors and 19 percent of juniors are now enrolled full time in classes at Rainy River Community College through the Post Secondary Enrollment Option Program.

“This has adversely affected our school climate and our culture,” he said, “in addition to a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars (to the high school).”

The principal said the state is pressuring school officials to create a community college within the high school in order to retain the students.

“It’s been a trend across the state and we’re going to push hard to make that happen for our students,” he said.

The board also Tuesday heard from secondary social studies teachers and elementary teachers about the importance of technology in the classroom.

John Sandberg and Ryan Puncochar said laptops are used almost daily in their classrooms and receive a positive response from students. Students are able to save assignments online and access them at home or from any computer after school. The teachers said it cuts down on the chance of lost notebooks and assignments.

“It also exposes them to technology,” Puncochar said.

Elementary teachers Jill Katrin, Terry Mason, and Jill Morrison spoke about the importance of having iPads in the classroom and how the devices amp up excitement in youth learning.

“Students are more eager to learn with a technological approach,” Mason said.

Falls Elementary and West End Elementary Principal Melissa Tate said there is one iPad cart at Falls Elementary and another at West End. Each cart, she said, holds 30 iPads.

The teachers requested the board consider improving the schools’ WiFi access and purchase additional iPads for students to use.