Pizza sales went swimmingly at Pine Island High School’s first home football game of the season, and at the volleyball home opener, too, board member John Champa reported at the board’s Sept. 6 meeting.
Last year’s differences between the sc
.....
[Read the Rest]
"Where Olmsted County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 5:36:49, May 15th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Though I hated to see you reference Glenn Beck by name [Three Times ... [Read More]
- 11:42:07, May 10th 2013 - yenken - I feel very sorry for those who have commented do far, as when you stand fa ... [Read More]
- 12:10:25, Apr 26th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Mr. "Cabtrom's" garbage-out[burst]--in response to Ms. Reisner's w ... [Read More]
- 9:51:50, Apr 24th 2013 - jeff pischke - To Jerry Grehl, the number to the fillmore county sheriffs office is 7 ... [Read More]
- 9:27:24, Apr 22nd 2013 - Cabtrom - Blah blah blah, garbage in garbage out! ... [Read More]
- 7:00:49, Apr 11th 2013 - Donald Pierce - Col. Stan Gudmundson hit most of the important nails squarly on the h ... [Read More]
- 12:44:54, Apr 4th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - My compliments to Ms. Hammer for giving us well-crafted "Rachel Rea ... [Read More]
- 5:09:06, Apr 3rd 2013 - truthiness - I see this is dated April 1. That explains it! ... [Read More]
- 12:04:33, Apr 3rd 2013 - Frank W. Hawthorne - Say WHAT?!? Stan's American-Pie [In SKY] is Falling--Not Again? ... [Read More]
- 12:40:21, Mar 29th 2013 - Jacob - It's a shame that so few people care about making their voices heard. If we ... [Read More]
Pine Island Board, teachers reach agreement
Mon, Sep 17th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
Comments
Fourteen months and 27 negotiation sessions after their old contract expired, Pine Island teachers and school board have at last achieved agreement. The new contract covers the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 academic years. Its total cost is $465,705, said Business Manager Carol Hebl.
Teachers had earlier voted, 71-2, to ratify the contract. The board, at its Sept. 6 meeting, approved it, too, but not before Janet Szajner gave a statement.
Szajner, board vice chairperson and chief negotiator for the contract talks, said the settlement has left her conflicted. She thanked the Pine Island Education Association “for sticking it out for 14 months.
“The result is a compromise in language and salary. The teachers deserve a pay raise,” she said, “but taxpayers deserve financial responsibility, especially during these tough economic times.
“The board was advised to keep the amount under the referendum amount. It’s just under. The settlement isn’t immediately putting us in financial jeopardy, but the potential is there.”
Because of her mixed feelings, Szajner said, she had decided to abstain from the vote.
Then the board approved the contract, 6 ayes – board member Randy DePestel’s “with much concern” – and one abstention.
Levy for teachers?
Last November, Pine Island voters approved a school referendum that supporters touted as the “Levy for Learning” because the money was targeted for the classroom.
Asked after the Sept. 6 meeting if the new contract has turned the referendum into a levy for teachers, Board Chairman Jeff Leland said, “No. Our teachers have been without a salary increase for a long time.”
“We look at the levy dollars going to teachers’ salaries as money going to the classroom,” said Superintendent Tammy Berg-Beniak.
“This board has used some of the levy money already for technology – IT infrastructure, iPads, wiring, curriculum, IT director,” Leland said. “That funding is going directly into the classroom.”
A comparison with area schools showed Pine Island teachers’ wages below the average, Berg-Beniak said. “We have to be in the range of our neighbors to attract and keep good teachers.”
She stressed that the actual increase to the district’s expenditures is less than the total settlement amount because that $465 .....
[Read the Rest]
Teachers had earlier voted, 71-2, to ratify the contract. The board, at its Sept. 6 meeting, approved it, too, but not before Janet Szajner gave a statement.
Szajner, board vice chairperson and chief negotiator for the contract talks, said the settlement has left her conflicted. She thanked the Pine Island Education Association “for sticking it out for 14 months.
“The result is a compromise in language and salary. The teachers deserve a pay raise,” she said, “but taxpayers deserve financial responsibility, especially during these tough economic times.
“The board was advised to keep the amount under the referendum amount. It’s just under. The settlement isn’t immediately putting us in financial jeopardy, but the potential is there.”
Because of her mixed feelings, Szajner said, she had decided to abstain from the vote.
Then the board approved the contract, 6 ayes – board member Randy DePestel’s “with much concern” – and one abstention.
Levy for teachers?
Last November, Pine Island voters approved a school referendum that supporters touted as the “Levy for Learning” because the money was targeted for the classroom.
Asked after the Sept. 6 meeting if the new contract has turned the referendum into a levy for teachers, Board Chairman Jeff Leland said, “No. Our teachers have been without a salary increase for a long time.”
“We look at the levy dollars going to teachers’ salaries as money going to the classroom,” said Superintendent Tammy Berg-Beniak.
“This board has used some of the levy money already for technology – IT infrastructure, iPads, wiring, curriculum, IT director,” Leland said. “That funding is going directly into the classroom.”
A comparison with area schools showed Pine Island teachers’ wages below the average, Berg-Beniak said. “We have to be in the range of our neighbors to attract and keep good teachers.”
She stressed that the actual increase to the district’s expenditures is less than the total settlement amount because that $465 .....
[Read the Rest]
Pine Island seeks solution for concession stand confusion
Mon, Sep 17th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
Comments
Pine Island School Board selects interim superintendent
Mon, Aug 27th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
The Pine Island School Board, seeking a savvy interim superintendent who’d suit the community and hit the ground running, didn’t have to look far to find her.
At a special meeting August 21, the board voted 6-0 to offer the job to Tammy Berg
.....
[Read the Rest]
[Read the Rest]
Pine Island’s busy school board meets again
Mon, Aug 27th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
Could Pine Island School Board members be saying, “We’ve got to stop meeting like this”?
They’ve been getting together a lot lately. Their August 20 regular meeting followed special sessions August 13, 17 and 18 and preceded another on Au
.....
[Read the Rest]
[Read the Rest]
Pine Island culls interim superintendent applications
Mon, Aug 20th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
The Pine Island School Board went beyond its August 13 meeting goal of specifying job qualifications for interim superintendent applicants. After establishing requirements and setting a system for grading candidates, the board decided to screen the
.....
[Read the Rest]
[Read the Rest]
Improved test scores and radical changes to lunch program co-star at Pine Island meeting
Mon, Aug 13th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
An abbreviated Pine Island School Board (the quorum comprised Janet Szajner, Randy DePestel, Angela Heiden and John Champa) heard good news about the 2012 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs).
The tests’ results were such recent arrivals t
.....
[Read the Rest]
[Read the Rest]
Pine Island school superintendent resigns
Mon, Aug 6th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
Pine Island School Superintendent Chris Bates has resigned to accept a job with another school district, a departure that has effectively preempted what appeared an attempt by the Pine Island board’s four new members to oust him.
The four – Jo
.....
[Read the Rest]
[Read the Rest]
New Pine Island School Board members spurn MSBA guidelines
Mon, Jul 30th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
In what appeared an attempt to oust six-year Superintendent Chris Bates, the four new members of Pine Island’s School Board out-voted their colleagues and rejected a proposed timeline for renewal (or not) of Bates’ contract.
But the board acti
.....
[Read the Rest]
[Read the Rest]
Pine Island PTSO makes $18,000 donation to iPads project
Mon, Jul 16th, 2012
Posted in Pine Island Education
Posted in Pine Island Education
Sometimes a cliché says it best. For example, short and sweet captures the July 12 Pine Island School Board meeting.
Jen Kramer, president of the local Parent, Teacher, Student Organization, presented an $18,000 check from PTSO. The money is f
.....
[Read the Rest]
[Read the Rest]