USD 383 Board of Education

May 4, 2011

Kathy Dzewaltowski, observer

Board members discussed the possibility of not filling an assistant principal position at MHS for the second year in a row. Board members were concerned about the remaining assistant principals becoming worn out by extra duties created by being one position short. MHS Principal Terry McCarty said the other assistant principals have been able to handle the extra work and will be able to do so for another year, but MHS would like to have the position filled when the high school remodeling project is completed.

Board President Susan Marshall commented on the letter the Board of Education had sent to the City Commission regarding the proposed amendment to the nondiscrimination ordinance. The previous evening, the City Commission had discussed repealing the ordinance, and it had been mentioned that the school district had been opposed to the ordinance because the district wouldn't know how to enforce it. Marshall read the board's letter aloud and said maybe the commissioners had misheard or misunderstood the content of the letter because it didn't say the district wouldn't know how to enforce the ordinance.

The board discussed at length whether to begin offering football as an extracurricular activity for 7th graders. The middle school administrators and athletic directors presented a proposal that would include 7th graders without increasing costs. Seventh and 8th graders would try out for available spots on the team, they would have equal opportunity to earn spots, and the resulting team would be comprised of a combination of 7th and 8th graders. Dave Colburn expressed concerns about exposing 7th graders to possible brain injuries and didn't want to add another year to when kids can be exposed to such injuries. Several board members emphasized that middle school sports is still on the list of potential cuts to reduce the budget and wanted supporters of 7th grade football to realize that it could still get cut later. The proposal to allow 7th grade football was approved 5-1 with Colburn dissenting.