MINNESOTA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION

July-August 2011 Volume 64, No. 1

Student Board Members Make an Impact in Their DistrictSchools Show Success of Cooperation

MSHSL: Sports, but a Whole Lot More

2011SUMMERSEMINAR

OO

2 MSBA JOURNAL

Our significant knowledge base and experience makes us wellversed in all facets of education law: public employment

and employee relations, student matters, school finance, elections, bond counsel services, construction, real estate,

school board matters, contracts, discrimination and harassment, data privacy, special education, constitutional issues and more.

on Education Law.

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A C H I E V I N G O U R C L I E N T S ’ G O A L S S I N C E 1 9 4 7

CONTENTS JULY/AUGUST 2011 VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1

Calendar

Articles

Divisions

STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS MAKE AN IMPACTIN THEIR DISTRICT

Greg Abbott and Bruce Lombard

SCHOOLS SHOW SUCCESS OF COOPERATION

Marilynn Taylor, Nicole LaChapelle, Jeremy Kovash and Cliff Carmody

MSHSL: SPORTS, BUT A WHOLE LOT MORE

John Millea16

GOING FROM DOOM TO ZOOM!

Greg Abbott20LEARNING TO LEAD FROM YOUR SOUL

Greg Abbott22

12

8

QUOTES OF NOTE

MSBA Staff

STRAIGHT TALK

Bob Meeks, MSBA Executive Director

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Kent Thiesse, MSBA President6ASK MSBA

Katie Klanderud, Director of Board Development27

54

J U LY 2 0 1 14 .............Independence Day (no meetings)

AU G U S T 2 0 1 17 .............Early Bird Workshop7 .............MSBA Board of Directors’ Meeting7–8 .........MSBA Summer Seminar9 .............MSBA Phase I & II Combination9 .............Charter School Training9 .............MSBA Insurance Trust Meeting9 .............Primary Election Day (if required – no

meetings or activities 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.)17 ...........Minnesota School District Liquid Asset

Plus Meeting

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 15 .............Labor Day (no meetings)14 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings15 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings20 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings21 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings22 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings30 ...........Last Day for Submitting Legislative

Resolutions

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 12–4 .........Minnesota Association of Educational

Office Professionals Conference2–4 .........MASA Fall Conference6 .............MSBA Insurance Trust Annual Meeting6-7 ..........MSBA Board of Directors’ Meeting10 ...........Columbus Day Observed

(optional holiday)20–21 .....Education Minnesota Conference

The MSBA Journalthanks the students ofElk River Area PublicSchools for sharing theirart with us in this issue.

COVER ART: Eric Stevens

JULY/AUGUST 2011 3

4 MSBA JOURNAL

Quotes of Note captures some of the more interesting statements MSBA staff have read in local, state and national publications.

Diversity insuperintendentcandidates“I think that I couldserve as a role modelfor them that they cansee ‘Yes, here’ssomebody that lookslike me, can besuccessful, and issuccessful, and so canI.’ So if it provides arole model forstudents, I think it’sgreat.”Rochester Public SchoolsSuperintendent MichaelMunoz

On changing NoChild Left Behind “I’m feeling thistremendous sense ofurgency. The neweducation law needs tobe in place by the timeschools start again inthe fall. This can’t beon Washington time.”U.S. Secretary ofEducation Arne Duncan

Serving 22 years as superintendent“There are those days where you know it’s going to betough, but I’ve never had a day where I’ve dreadedgoing to work. If there’s a situation, I try to tackle itright away, return those phone calls right away. I’vealways been a ‘how to’ when it comes to gettingthrough the challenges, so we can keep movingforward and getting better, while also making sureeveryone is treated with class and dignity.”Martin County West Superintendent Randy Grupe

Dealing with a failed referendum“It’s a tough situation for school districts right nowbecause we’re the only area that people can addresstheir tax issues with direct votes. There’s never a goodtime to go out and ask people for more money.” Waconia Board Chair Teresa Kittridge

Approving a cell phone policy“The intent of the policy is to allow students to text anduse phones during passing time. And to teach studentsabout appropriate use—when it is class time it is classtime; when it is passing time, go ahead and use it.”Fairmont Area Board Member Diane Gerhardt

Ending chocolate milk in school lunches“Consuming chocolate milk every day can train achild’s palate toward sweetened foods. While werecognize that some children may no longer choose todrink milk at school, we believe that the decision wasmade in the best interest of our students.” Minneapolis Public Schools Director of Nutrition ServicesRosemary Dederichs

OFFICERSPresident: Kent Thiesse, Lake Crystal

Wellcome MemorialPast President: Jackie Magnuson, Rosemount-Apple

Valley-EaganDISTRICT DIRECTORSDistrict 1: Kathy Green, AustinDistrict 2: Jodi Sapp, Mankato AreaDistrict 3: Linden Olson, WorthingtonDistrict 4: Betsy Scheurer, HopkinsDistrict 5: Marilynn Forsberg, Spring Lake ParkDistrict 6: Kevin Donovan, MahtomediDistrict 7: Roz Peterson, Lakeville AreaDistrict 8: Elona Street-Stewart, St. PaulDistrict 9: Karen Kirschner, MoraDistrict 10: Dana Laine, Frazee-VergasDistrict 11: Walter Hautala, Mesabi EastDistrict 12: Ann Long Voelkner, Bemidji AreaDistrict 13: Deb Pauly, JordanSTAFFBob Meeks:Executive DirectorBarbara Lynn:Executive Assistant/Director of Board OperationsJohn Sylvester:Deputy Executive DirectorTiffany Rodning:Deputy Executive DirectorGreg Abbott:Director of CommunicationsDenise Drill:Director of Financial/MSBAIT ServicesAmy Fullenkamp-Taylor:Associate Director of Management ServicesSandy Gundlach:Director of School Board ServicesDonn Jenson:Director of Information and TechnologyBill Kautt:Associate Director of Management ServicesGrace Keliher:Director of Governmental RelationsKatie Klanderud:Director of Board DevelopmentGary Lee:Associate Director of Management ServicesBruce Lombard:Associate Director of CommunicationsBob Lowe:Director of Management ServicesKelly Martell:Director of TechnologyCathy Miller:Director of Legal and Policy ServicesSue Munsterman:MSBA AdvertisingKirk Schneidawind:Associate Director of Governmental RelationsMike Torkelson:Elections/Management Services Specialist

The MSBA Journal (USPS 352-220) is publishedbimonthly by the Minnesota School BoardsAssociation, 1900 West Jefferson Avenue, St.Peter, Minnesota 56082. Telephone 507-934-2450.Call MSBA office for subscription rates.(Opinions expressed in the Journal are those ofthe writers and do not necessarily representMSBA policy.)

WBeing part ofMSBA willbenefit yourdistrict, yourboard and yourstudents farmore than thecost of dues

JULY/AUGUST 2011 5

STRAIGHTTALK

With tight budget times, boards acrossthe state are re-examining every dollarthat is spent, making sure that when it isspent, the district gets a good return onthat investment.

We believe that being a member of YourMinnesota School Boards Associationresults in a huge return on investment.So when someone asks, “What do we getfor our dues?” here is just a small list:

• FREE on-call assistance on mattersranging from Minnesota’s openmeeting law to district personnelissues and levy election questions andeverything in between. A perfectexample is a board chair who couldn’tthank us enough for phone helpduring the year that kept them out oflawsuits and helped gain the trust ofthe community.

• Probably our biggest perk is the FREELeadership Conference, which givesyou the opportunity to accessoutstanding school board membertraining and gather necessaryinformation from excellent speakers.MSBA is the ONLY state school boardsassociation in the nation that does notcharge a registration or attendance feefor the annual conference/convention.

• MSBA’s award-winning Journalmagazine, Capitol Compass,Boardcaster newsletter, Lobby Line andthe daily News Clipping Service – allFREE.

• The FREE Public Education EmployeeRelations Network (PEERNet) thatgives districts access to a gold mine ofinformation on salaries, benefits anddistrict characteristics.

We also give districts access to hugesavings through:

• The Minnesota School District LiquidAsset Fund Plus (MSDLAF+): Morethan 380 entities participate in thiscash management program that has

historically resulted in higher returnswhen compared to other pooledfunds. For most districts participatingin the program, the excess interestearnings in 2010 far exceeded thedues paid to MSBA.

• Board training: Our PhaseOrientation training series coverseverything from the training of newschool board members that isrequired by Minnesota law to board-superintendent roles. We offer severalenrichment opportunities such asOfficers’ Workshops, SummerSeminar, Negotiations Seminars andLearn @ Lunch webinars to keepboard members informed. We knowthat highly effective boards increasestudent achievement.

• Lobbying: We provide 24/7 lobbying atthe state Capitol before, during andafter the session. We are the onlyAssociation that lobbies for all schooldistricts. And we lobby for YOURresolutions through our DelegateAssembly process that consists of schoolboard members elected to the DelegateAssembly by you to represent you.

• Policy Services: This service is criticalto keep school policies up-to-date. Justthis past year, 57 policies were updatedfor legislative and legal changes.

To list all the reasons, I may need theentire Journal. But know that being partof MSBA will benefit your district, yourboard and your students far more thanthe cost of dues. We need you as amember and a participant. You will be abetter school board member if you areactively involved in your Association.Together, we can work together tosupport, promote, and enhance thework of public school boards and publiceducation.

MSBA: YOUR BEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Bob MeeksMSBA Executive Director

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMNCOOPERATION USUALLY ENDSIN AWIN-WIN FOR EVERYONE

SWhen all is saidand done, thekey to workingtogether is this:“How will thisimprove whatwe can do tohelp our kidssucceed?”

School districts, just like any otherpublic service, are stronger working withothers than fighting for individualpieces of the funding pie. There havebeen politics of the past, where thegame has been to pit outstate districtsagainst urban districts. Or to pit smalldistricts against large districts. And it’sgood to see that school leaders aren’tfalling for that old political trick thistime around.

We know that working together –whether through cooperation,partnerships or consolidation – can helpto use resources the best way possible tohelp the most kids possible. You don’tneed to look any farther than theSouthwest Flexible Learning Yearconsortium to see how working togetherhas paid off for students in those 25districts. Together, they came up with aplan to start the school year early toincrease learning before mandatorytests, and get on a common calendar sostudents wanting to take college coursescan easily take advanced classes. Theproject is just one of four that MSBA ishighlighting in an article on the LocalGovernment Innovations award winners.School districts in other parts ofMinnesota are now looking at similarefforts.

As funding gets tighter, it does eachorganization good to look at how it canwork with other groups to improve ourfuture. It’s part of the reason MSBA’sboard of directors has pushed to gainpartnerships with the Association ofMinnesota Counties (AMC) and theLeague of Minnesota Cities (LMC) aspart of our “Big 3” efforts. It goesbeyond our Joint Legislative Conferencewhere we work together to promotelegislation that will help everyone. Ourboard and staff meet with those

organizations regularly to look at whatwe can share and ways we can all worktogether. Within education, our closestpartners are our superintendents. MSBABoard and staff meet at a minimum oftwice a year with Minnesota Associationof School Administrators (MASA)leadership to discuss issues of mutualinterest. MSBA also has had a longhistory of its executive director andleadership meeting with EducationMinnesota staff to work on issues thatboth groups agree on, as well as otherkey educational organizations onimportant legislation and policy issues.

The MSBA Board is constantly lookingfor more opportunities to collaborate,whether it is through involvement in theAlliance for Student Achievement or innew initiatives that may be developed.There are many examples across thestate of local school districts sharingprograms, whether it’s academic,athletics, integration, or otherprograms. Many school districtscooperate with cities or counties onshared facilities, community education,summer programs, and other localefforts. MSBA staff serves as a resourceto local school districts in developingcollaborative efforts with other schooldistricts and other entities of localgovernment. The best ideas forcollaboration and cooperation aregenerally spawned at the local“grassroots” level.

When all is said and done, the key toworking together is this: “How will thisimprove what we can do to help our kidssucceed?” If there is the chance that itwill help kids at all, it’s worth swallowinga little hometown pride, rolling up yoursleeves and working with others to find abetter solution.

Kent ThiesseMSBA President

STUDENTBOARDMEMBERSMAKE ANIMPACTIN THEIRDISTRICTMSBA honored twostudent school boardmembers, MargueriteHaggerty of Cannon FallsArea and Maraki Ketemaof White Bear Lake Area,as the two winners of a$3,000 MSBA StudentSchool Board MemberScholarship.

8 MSBA JOURNAL

TGreg Abbott andBruce Lombard

The panel of judges for this year’sMSBA Student School Board MemberScholarship once again had theenjoyable, yet very difficult, task ofselecting two recipients from the bestof the best. This year’s winners areMaraki Ketema (White Bear Lake HighSchool) and Marguerite Haggerty(Cannon Falls High School).

Maraki Ketema emigrated fromEthiopia with her family when she was8 years old. Though she praises theAmerican education system fortransforming her into the person she istoday, a strong foundation was laidback in her native country.Karissa Cable, Elk River Area Public Schools

JULY/AUGUST 2011 9

Maraki’s parents hadplaced her in some of thebest schools in Ethiopia. Bythe time Maraki arrived inthe United States, shecould already speakEnglish. “I am extremelyfortunate to be born to thefamily I have,” Maraki said.“My parents are extremelyfirm on their belief ineducation.”

The MSBA scholarship judges were impressed by that abilityMaraki had to come to a new country at such a young ageand understand the challenges she faced, demonstratingleadership and working to show other students how they,too, can succeed.

The judges also cited Maraki’s efforts in helping otherstudents, as well as people throughout the community, bybeing active in the African American Advisory group andthe All Ethiopian Union Party. Maraki had an extensiveinvolvement with the student council, won a CapitalDivision Presidential Award, compiled a strong weightedgrade point average of 4.22, and participated in many extracurricular activities.

“(Extracurricular activities) are extremely important,”Maraki said. “Some of the most important lessons I havelearned have come from my extracurricular activities. Iwouldn’t be (where I am today) if it weren’t for debate or

mock trial, if I hadn’t been able to develop those speakingskills. (Extracurricular activities)play a critical part in theeducation system.”

Maraki chose to serve on the school board as a way to giveback to the White Bear Lake community that has served herwell. Early on, Maraki was struck by the level ofcollaboration among the board members, superintendentand staff.

“The level of teamwork it takes to run this school district isreally impressive,” she said. “The school board is the base ofthe school educational structure. Without a properlyfunctioning school board, you can’t have a functioningstudent body and a functioning administration. If you can’thave a functioning school board, the future people you arepreparing for the world won’t really be prepared.”

Superintendent Michael Lovett, who recommended Marakifor the scholarship, said: “When you look at the future andthink of who will be our next leaders, I know she will be inan important leadership role.”

Maraki demonstrated strong leadership as a student liaisonand policymaker during her time on the board. She gavethe school board the student perspective when revisionswere made to White Bear Lake’s attendance policy andInternet safety policy.

Maraki said she wants to leave behind a positive legacy, onethat would inspire other students to achieve their potential.

“Coming from where I came from and having met thedifficulties I have met—coming from a third-world country

and making thattransition—I think Ihave done verywell,” she said. “Thedetermination Ihave demonstratedthroughout my timehere in theeducation system issomething that I

want other students to learn from. I am thankful tomy parents and thankful to the American system forgiving me the education that I’ve had.”

Maraki plans to double major in biomedicalengineering and economics at Carleton College inNorthfield. After Carleton, she plans to studyinternational law. Ultimately, she said, she wants towork for the United Nations to help promotedemocracy in Africa.

Cannon Falls Area High School student MargueriteHaggerty also stood out from a large group ofoutstanding students. Judges cited her for tacklingevery advanced placement and honors course in herdistrict and her extensive involvement in schoolactivities, but most of all for her work in thecommunity to help the school pass a buildingreferendum by creating a video.

Cannon Falls Superintendent Todd Sesker askedMarguerite if she was willing to help with thebuilding campaign. She signed on to do a video onthe topic of current facilities—a video shown nearly50 times throughout the campaign.

“I strongly believe that Marguerite’s portion of thevideo was instrumental in the passage of this buildingbond,” Sesker said. “Her testimony of what thepresent state of our facilities is—compared to whatwe could have—proved to be a powerful message toour community.”

For Marguerite, being on the board is simply achance to look at the big picture and give a differentperspective. “It’s my opportunity to tell adults whatthey might not know about how decisions affect orcould affect students.”

She has seen the Cannon Falls Area Board deal withtough issues—such as cutting faculty. “Those aretough decisions to make. In a small community, youknow everyone. You know them well,” she said. “Inone instance, they decided to downsize theagriculture program, instead of eliminate it. They’retrying to keep as many opportunities for students asthey can.”

Marguerite has been on the school board for twoyears. Most student board members have come fromthe Student Council, but it is not a requirement to be

10 MSBA JOURNAL

STUDEN

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IN THEIR DISTR

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JULY/AUGUST 2011 11

How White BearLake Area

selects its student

schoolboard

memberWhite Bear LakeSuperintendent

Dr. Michael Lovett saidhis district conducts itsstudent school boardmember selectionprocess through thecoordination of thehigh school principal,who asks teachers torecommend studentswho show potential

and interest inleadership.

Student nominees thensubmit an applicationfor the position. Theapplication poses thiskey question: “Why doyou wish to serve as

studentrepresentative?”

The high schoolprincipal reviews theapplications before heand a school board

representative interviewthe candidates. Thehigh school principal,Lovett and the schoolboard complete theprocess by selectingone school board

student representativeand one alternative

representative.

a member of the council. During her time on the board, she has seen how boardmembers want to be involved in student achievement and the importance ofgood governance to keep those opportunities available to students.

Board Clerk Brenda Owens, who recommended Haggerty, said: “Marguerite istruly a leader and role model for her classmates. She is one of the most activeand dedicated students I have known.”

Marguerite is also quick to praise other board members for teaching her aboutleadership skills she could never have learned in a class. “Being on the board hastaught me first-hand how to go about deciding on an issue, whether it is schoolpolicy, finance or curriculum. And this is a skill that I will be able to use formyself in almost every area of my life.”

She plans to major in business at the Carlson School of Management at theUniversity of Minnesota.

MSBA President Kent Thiesse said it is always a pleasure to recognize the best andbrightest students. “These students understand public service. Their involvementwith other students in the school and people in the community will leave apositive legacy long after they are gone.”

About 80 of the 338 public school districts in Minnesota have some form ofstudent school board member representation. A committee of five from theMSBA Board of Directors selected the two winners from 25 applications.

Greg Abbott is the Director of Communications and Bruce Lombard is the Associate Directorof Communications for the Minnesota School Boards Association. To comment on thisarticle, you can contact them at gabbott@mnmsba.org or blombard@mnmsba.org.

Stephanie Peterson, Elk River Area Public Schools

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Cooperation across school districts, cities,counties and service cooperatives has createdsome impressive programs in Minnesota the pastyear. Four programs were recognized with LocalGovernment Innovation awards by the HumphreyInstitute for their efficiency and effectivenessacross political lines.

DISTRICTS PARTNER TO HELPREDUCE DROPOUTSHelping prevent at-risk students from droppingout of school is the focus of an award-winningcollaboration by three Minnesota school districts,Hennepin County and TIES.

Keeping at-risk students in school is a tremendouschallenge. An alarming 35 percent of the studentsin Hennepin County fail to graduate from highschool. In the Minneapolis metropolitan areaalone, more than 10,000 students dropped outfrom the class of 2008.

The cost is enormous and long-term. Dropoutsare more likely to be incarcerated or unemployed,rely on public services and go without healthinsurance. Over their working life, the averagedropout will cost taxpayers more than $292,000 inlower tax revenues, public services and supportcosts, and incarceration costs.

A major problem facing county probation officersand case workers who help at-risk students is thelack of timely information about schoolattendance, academic performance and behaviorproblems. County services providers first have torequest student information from the school,then wait for the school to collect the data. Thiscan take days, during which time the student mayhave skipped school many more times. Delays ininformation work against prevention and positiveresults for these students.

An innovative solution to this problem wascreated at no cost through the collaboration ofHennepin County; the Bloomington, BrooklynCenter and Intermediate 287 school districts; andTIES, an education technology developer ownedby 41 Minnesota school districts.

The collaboration was the idea of BloomingtonSuperintendent Les Fujitake, who suggested usingTIES Personalized Learning as a tool for sharinginformation to Kristine Martin, HennepinCounty’s Director of Research, Planning andDevelopment. That quickly led to the five-partnercollaboration and a working solution that ishelping children.

The solution allows the sharing of studentinformation in real time electronically throughthe use of TIES Personalized Learning System,the same system used by educators and parents inmany public schools across Minnesota.

“The judges viewed the five-partner effort toreduce school dropouts as particularly innovativein addressing a difficult and critical issue,” said JayKiedrowski, Senior Fellow and Co-Director of thePublic and Nonprofit Leadership Center at theHumphrey Institute. “We believe that thisprogram should be implemented by schooldistricts and counties statewide.”

Using the TIES Personalized Learning System,probation officers and case workers get secureaccess to instant information about at-riskstudents in the three districts. E-mail alerts notifythem if a student misses or is late for a class beforethe class is over.

With information readily at hand, serviceproviders can be far more efficient, speedy andproactive in addressing problems before theybecome crises, making it easier and faster to

Marilynn Taylor,Nicole LaChapelle,Jeremy Kovash and

Cliff Carmody

Schools Show Successof Cooperation

JULY/AUGUST 2011 13

respond to students and prevent them frombecoming dropouts.

Accountability is also immediate. Studentsare more accountable for their behaviorswhen they know someone is watching.Service providers are more accountable fortaking timely action with their clients.

A preliminary evaluation of this pilotprogram shows that the new system savessignificant time for county serviceproviders. It also takes the burden offschool staff who previously had to generatethe information and send it to countyservice providers. Ultimately, it is helping tokeep kids in school.

“We are delighted to partner in thisimportant effort for students and offer theproduct development at no cost,” said BettySchweizer, TIES Executive Director.“Helping to improve student achievement iscentral to TIES’ mission.”

See a video about the project, “Dropout,” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YORd234D_BE.

STUDENTS EXPANDHORIZONS WITH HELP OFGRANT-FUNDED MOBILESCIENCE LABSThanks to the generosity of severalorganizations, Southeast ServiceCooperative manages and loans out twoMobile Science Labs, fully stocked withstate-of the-art scientific equipment, to areahigh schools. Launched in January of 2009,thanks to a $75,000 grant from HealthForceMinnesota (part of the Minneapolis CityPlanning and Center of Economic Development Office),the Labs are available for a nominal usage fee to anyteacher who has completed the Mayo Clinic EducatorAcademy, designed to expand molecular biology andgenomics, or the one-week session focused on agriculturalbioscience. Participation in these courses is the prerequisitetraining for using the specialized equipment andsuccessfully implementing the curriculum.

SSC’s Mobile Science Labs have made a strong impact inthe region and are very well received. They have been usedby nearly 2,000 students already and have visited more than20 districts. Soon after introducing the first Lab, it becameevident a second Lab would be needed. SSC launched afunding campaign to develop and deploy a second trailer.With help from partners at the Mayo Clinic and RochesterArea Math Science Partnership, the money was raised.

Thanks to a two-year, $50,000 grant from HealthForceMinnesota, combined with a $15,000 grant from the

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a $10,000 grantfrom Workforce Development, Inc., a $10,000 grant fromWinona State University (a member of the Minnesota StateColleges and Universities System), a $5,000 grant from theAgStar Fund for Rural America, and a $7,500 grant fromMinnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council(MAELC), the second trailer was deployed at the start ofthis school year.

By providing this resource, the Mobile Science Labs ensurethat teachers have access to the full array of scientificequipment necessary to duplicate what they experienced inMayo Clinic Laboratories in their classrooms and tosuccessfully implement the new curriculum.

In direct response to feedback from teachers using theLabs, SSC has also extended the rental period to allow forseven full days of classroom use. These two additional dayswill provide time for more experiments and in-depth study,further enhancing the student experience.

Caroline Green, Elk River Area Public Schools

14 MSBA JOURNAL

SSC has been monitoring the impact of the Labs onhigh school students by means of a pre- and post-survey. The goal of the project is to help studentsexplore career opportunities in the science. Ofstudents surveyed, 77 percent indicated that sciencewill play an important role in their future, and 26percent said they are considering pursuing a healthscience career (higher than any other option in anyother field). In addition, 91 percent indicated thatthe experience personally impacted them in apositive way (by increasing engagement in theirlearning, teaching them new skills, and/or increasingawareness of scientific careers). Students reportedthat using the Mobile Science Lab “changed myopinion of science and biology,” and “proved thatscience is relevant to my life.”

FINANCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMBUILDS ON MISSION OF LOCALCONTROL WITH REGIONALEXCELLENCE Lakes Country Service Cooperative was recognized forimplementing a regional shared services model forfinancial management. Building on an enduringvision begun 35 years ago, LCSC has built programsdesigned to provide seamless shared servicesthat meet the needs of individual members.Members retain local control, yet have theability to tap into services designed forexcellence and efficiency.

At the request of members, LCSC is nowproviding financial management andassistance to several school districts andnonprofit organizations. The services rangefrom full-scale financial management topayroll, grant management, fiscal hosting,and a number of other temporary services.Currently, the Perham-Dent, Hawley, Sebekaand Campbell-Tintah School Districts arereceiving full financial management services.

According to Kristi Werner, LCSC FinanceManager, “The work is very challenging, but itallows us to build a skilled workbase as well.We are able to compare best practices amongseveral entities and continually train our staff.The work with our members, their schools,and leadership is very rewarding and aprocess we see continuing into the future.”

“I have been extremely satisfied andimpressed with the shared business managerservices that we are receiving from LakesCountry Service Cooperative,” says PhilJensen, Superintendent of Hawley PublicSchools. “At first, I was very skeptical as tohow this would work without having someonein the business office, but with the utilization

of technology and the Internet, we have not had anyissues. LCSC has been very accommodating andflexible in meeting the needs of our district.”

LCSC is a member-driven organization with a historyof innovative regional programs. LCSC has beencombining the volume purchasing power of itsmember organizations for years to achieve significantvalue in the areas of health insurance and purchasingof goods and services. It has a long history ofproviding shared personnel to provide expertise inareas that many of its members could not affordalone. Low-incidence special education, audiology,technology, health and safety, and educationalconsultants are all areas that LCSC is currentlyproviding to members in Region IV.

“The true credit for this innovation award goes to oursuperintendents, board of directors and staff for theirvision,” according to Jeremy Kovash, LCSC ExecutiveDirector. “The work we do with our members is theresult of hours of conversation, discussion, planning,and sharing. All credit goes to those communities andtheir leadership for endlessly searching for any way tosave classroom teachers, maintain programs forstudents, and innovatively share other services.”

Schools S

how S

uccess

of C

ooperation

Carissa Lanthier, Elk River Area Public Schools

JULY/AUGUST 2011 15

FLEXIBLE LEARNING YEAR USESCOOPERATION OF 25 SCHOOLDISTRICTSThe SW/WC Service Cooperative partnered with the 25school districts participating in the Flexible Learning Year(FLY) initiative in Southwest Minnesota.

To understand the commitment these folks have to theFLY, very early on in the process, the superintendentscommitted to attending ALL, not some, of thesuperintendent meetings—perfect attendance wasnecessary to achieve the level of commitment theyexpected for this collaborative effort to be successful. As aresult, although the FLY superintendents very muchappreciated the award and recognition, they sent theExecutive Director of the SW/WC Service Cooperative,Cliff Carmody, to accept the award on their behalf.

“The FLY is all about collaboration, partnership, andcommitment. How is that so innovative? These schoolsare looking for a smarter way of doing business. You don’thave to dig very far and you find a committed group ofprofessional educators taking risks, trying something new,working together on a “handshake” and committed to thesuccess of each other—with all their efforts focused onimproving student achievement,” said Carmody.

The Flexible Learning Year idea was born three or fouryears ago when a dozen or more school districts,represented by board members and superintendents,attended a meeting in Tracy to talk about how schoolscould become more involved in the sharing of programsand services. This led to an unsuccessful attempt the firstyear the application was reviewed by the MinnesotaDepartment of Education. However, more meetings, morediscussion and greater focus led to a successful initiativeon the second attempt to get MDE approval.

A “hotbed” for collaboration, Southwest Minnesota andthe area service cooperative have been partnering formore than three decades to bring “shared service”solutions to the members who make up the servicecooperative’s 18-county region.

“It’s an honor for me to represent those members inaccepting the Local Government Innovation Award,”Carmody said. “It is through the commitment of theschool board members, administration and staff of the 25 FLY schools that this became a successful venture. TheService Cooperative will continue to partner with ourmembers to bring collaborative solutions to our region.”

Marilynn Taylor is communications assistant at TIES; NicoleLaChapelle is communications and program assistant forSoutheast Service Cooperative; Jeremy Kovash is the executivedirector of Lakes Country Service Cooperative; and Cliff Carmodyis the executive director of the SW/WC Service Cooperative.

(l-r, front row) Kristine Martin, Hennepin County, Director of Research, Planningand Development; Sandra Gaulke, Student Information Services Manager,Intermediate District 287; Betty Schweizer, Executive Director, TIES; Keith Lester,Superintendent, Brooklyn Center Public Schools; Ben Silberglitt, SoftwareApplications Manager, TIES; Les Fujitake, Superintendent, Bloomington PublicSchools; Arlene Bush, Bloomington School Board; Julie Ha Truong, CommunitySchools District Manager, Brooklyn Center. (l-r, back row) Karen Miller, PrincipalPlanning Analyst, Hennepin County; Jane Holmberg, Executive Director ofTeaching and Learning, Intermediate District 287; David Kram, Senior Managerof Software Development and Support, TIES; Tim Heckel, Senior Systems Analyst,TIES; Chuck Walters, Bloomington School Board; Nancy Allen-Mastro, AssistantSuperintendent, Bloomington Public Schools.

Samantha Phillips, Elk River Area Public Schools

16 MSBA JOURNAL

TJohn Millea

MSHSL: SPORTS,BUT A WHOLELOT MORE

The Minnesota State High School Leaguesponsors one of the most comprehensiveprograms of interscholastic activities in theUnited States, involving approximately 500member schools, 230,000 students, 19,000coaches and 9,000 contest officials.

But if you’re thinking only of balls, skates,sticks and sneakers, you’re missing out onmuch of the MSHSL story. Yes, theorganization oversees traditional sports such asbaseball, football, basketball, wrestling,volleyball and track and field. But studentsinvolved in activities such as debate, speech,music and art are also an important part of theMSHSL.

In fact, nearly 100,000 students participate inMSHSL fine arts activities each school year,and the skills learned while participating inspeech, debate, drama or music will be usefullong after these students leave high school.

Roxy Janke, co-coach of the Fairmont HighSchool speech team—which has finished firstor second in the Class A medal count for sevenyears in a row—described speech like this: “Itis a lifelong skill, it’s dedication from thestudents, it’s class, it’s playing right; that’s whatspeech is.”

The MSHSL nontraditional activities are allunique in some ways, but the spirit ofcompetition runs throughout. Tournamentorganizers, judges and officials ensure that thespirit of fair play is paramount, coaches guidetheir students and competitors do their bestwhen the action begins.

Sometimes the action consists of speaking.Debate and speech are exciting events thatinvolve as much preparation as any sport.Debate is split into two distinct competitions:Policy Debate (two people on each team) andLincoln-Douglas Debate (one person). Debate

topics change each year on a national level; in2010-11 the topics were “The United Statesfederal government should substantiallyreduce its military and/or police presence inone or more of the following: South Korea,Japan, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Turkey”(Policy Debate); and “In the United States,juveniles charged with violent felonies ought tobe treated as adults in the criminal justicesystem” (Lincoln-Douglas).

Speech involves 13 distinct categories ofcompetition: Serious Interpretation (Prose,Drama or Poetry), Original Oratory,Humorous Interpretation, Storytelling,Extemporaneous Reading, CreativeExpression, Original Oratory, Great Speeches,Discussion, Extemporaneous Speaking,Informative Speaking and Duo Interpretation.

Each contestant performs three times in thepreliminaries, before a different judge each

Heather Winkler, Elk River Area Public Schools

JULY/AUGUST 2011 17

time. The top students in each event advance to the finals(with three judges), after which awards are presented.

Students in debate and speech could easily be called thebest-dressed of all MSHSL participants: males generallywear suits and ties and females are most often seen inbusiness attire, as well. These events are highly competitive,but with a high level of sportsmanship as studentsencourage and congratulate each other.

Similar themes can be seen at the MSHSL one-act playfestival, music competitions and the annual visual artsexhibition. These activities follow a festival format and arenot considered competitions. One-act plays are limited tono more than 35 minutes, following a maximum 10-minutestage setup with a total cast and crew that cannot exceed 20students. Music events are held on the section and sub-section levels, involving both vocal and instrumental music.The MSHSL visual arts exhibition is held annually andincludes works produced by some of Minnesota’s mosttalented young artists.

There are similarities in all these activities: practice andpreparation, guidance by skilled coaches and mentors, aspirit of fair play and pride in a job well done.

Sarah Bankson, a Fairmont senior who made history thisyear by becoming the first four-time gold medalist at thestate speech tournament, could have been speaking forcompetitors in any MSHSL activity when she said, “Thereare a lot of feelings. It’s joy, relief, happiness. It’s just kindof overwhelming.”

The MSHSL also is a national pioneer in adapted athleticactivities, giving students who are physically and/or

cognitively impaired opportunities to compete, earn varsityletters and enjoy all the positive aspects of the team sportsof bowling, floor hockey, soccer and softball.

Ask just about anyone involved in MSHSL activities abouttheir favorites, and you’re likely to get many differentanswers. The nontraditional activities often rank thehighest. Mark Solberg, a former coach and currently theathletic director at Cambridge-Isanti, answers withouthesitation that adapted bowling is at the top of his list.

“Nothing against anything I ever used to coach, but it’s myfavorite activity,” Solberg said. “It’s exceptional.”

Adapted bowling—which offers coed divisions forCognitively Impaired (CI) and Physically Impaired (PI)athletes—is a popular sport at Cambridge-Isanti and manyother schools around Minnesota. As a prelude to theCambridge-Isanti Bluejackets’ appearance at the statetournament, the bowlers were honored during a send-offrally in the school gym. The team received thunderousovations from their fellow students, faculty and staff.

“Probably the loudest our gym has been for years was whenthe bowling team came out of the tunnel,” Solberg said.“That was pretty darn cool.”

Those same words can be used to describe all MSHSLactivities. Just because some of them are not contested infront of large, raucous crowds or on television does notmean they are not vital to the MSHSL mission statement:“The Minnesota State High School League provideseducational opportunities for students throughinterscholastic athletic and fine arts programs and providesleadership and support for member schools.”

Allie Werner, Elk River Area Public Schools

18 MSBA JOURNAL

MSHSL: SPORTS, BUT A

WHOLE LOT M

ORE

Susie Kaspar, a swimming and diving coach atCambridge-Isanti, also coaches the school’s adaptedbowling team. She said the benefits of adaptedathletics are nearly immeasurable.

“It represents the PI (physically impaired) and CI(cognitively impaired) communities,” she said. “Itgives people awareness of what’s out there, and thelack of opportunity they have. So to have theMinnesota State High School League provide thisand to have our school support it is just such ablessing. A lot of these athletes cannot be on othermainstream sports teams, and with their cognitiveimpairments they can’t always make the honor roll,so getting their names in the paper, and a picture inthe paper is just an awesome thing. So it means a lotto them. I had them write an essay, and a lot of themwrote, ‘It’s the one thing I can do, and I do it well.’ ”

Kaspar used the word pride in describing themembers of the team.

“Pride, a sense of pride. I just get excited watchingthem,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of these athletes inelementary and middle school, so to watch themmature physically, emotionally, socially, from point Ato point B is just incredible. And we get some goodlaughs. I enjoy their personalities. Sometimes I get alittle quiet because I get emotional; I’m so proud ofthem.”

John Millea is a media specialist for the Minnesota StateHigh School League. You can reach him atjmillea@mshsl.org.

The 2011 Class A state speech champions pose for photos after theawards ceremony.

MSHSL FINE ARTSACTIVITIESDuring the 2009–10 school year there were more than 79,292 studentsinvolved in fine arts activities—debate,speech, drama, music, and visual arts.

Debate

• 60 participating schools• 726 participants• 2 Championships

One Act Play

• 288 participating schools• 3,496 participants• 2 Championships

Speech

• 332 participating schools• 6,438 participants• 2 Championships

Visual Arts

• 204 participating schools• 2,036 participants

Band

• 421 participating schools• 30,291 participants

Orchestra

• 217 participating schools• 4,191 participants

Vocal

• 429 participating schools• 32,114 participants

Adam Watzke, Elk River Area Public Schools

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WWhether it is from schoolboards or in corporateboard rooms, Jim Burgetthas continued to hearabout funding cuts, doingmore with less and thedoom of the economicdownturn.

But Burgett, MSBA’skeynote speaker forSummer Seminar, alsoknows that once you knowwhat you’re facing, thereare still ways to rethink yourincome, staff and goals tomake students zoom inachievement.

Burgett focuses on twoaspects: schoolmanagement andoperations. The “doom”part is what is happening inevery state—a financialcrisis that impacts schoolsand all governmentaloperations.

“It manifests itself with lossof resources, higher classratios, layoffs, loss ofprograms and an attitude ofdoom,” he said. “But at the

Going from

Greg Abbott

Morida Soun, Elk River Area Public Schools

JULY/AUGUST 2011 21Tessa Warnke, Elk River Area Public Schools

same time schools face an unprecedented lack of resources,they face unprecedented opportunity in learning.’

Technology is one way to turn doom into zoom. Kids areembracing the changes in technology and have access toinformation that has never been so accessible before.

“But the biggest way to go from doom to zoom is bybuilding an attitude of ‘We will do this!’ Just maybe do it indifferent ways,” Burgett said.

To do that, he said, board members must think of short-term AND long-term solutions. “An example of long-termmay be readjusting staff to give them training and tools—not firing and rehiring new staff, but developing the staffyou have. And if staff aren’t interested in training, thenreplace them.”

For school board members, Burgett puts a high priority onbeing involved legislatively.

“Many states are finding that state budgets need to be cutand education is being hit. They make threats, find money,make threats, find money. Districts never know what thefinancial outlook is going to be,” he said. “So I’mencouraging board members to say: How can we looktogether long-term to get the state situation resolved? If thatmeans setting a 2–3 year amount that’s lower, but stable, it’sa way to keep it balanced and participate in a forward-looking manner.”

Second, moving to azoom culture meansworking togetherinternally. Supportsuperintendents, otheradministrators andunions in such a way thateveryone can rethinkbetter ways to solveproblems.

He said many boards takean antagonistic approachtoward union salaries.And every state has a takeon it—some movingbenefits or taking awaybenefits.

“Wisconsin is setting a dangerous precedent of thinking thatcurtailing benefits is a quick fix. I can tell you now thatlowering morale of teachers is not a quick fix for doom tozoom. You will drive good teachers right out of the system.”

So what should districts do? Stop complaining and startdoing. Work together to motivate internal staff and soeveryone can motivate the people in the community. Boardmembers can do that by talking about the value ofeducation.

“We do a poor job on that. When people discover thateducation is one of the most expensive items in a statebudget, they try to undermine education by underminingthe system of bargaining,” he said. “We all need to tellpeople that states with the best economies have a well-educated populace and well-educated workers. When yourelate productivity and success and getting out of a negativeclimate with education, then school becomes a necessity.”

Burgett said that board members have a special role in thecommunity to be education advocates. “That doesn’t meanavoiding the negative, but it does mean putting it in amindset about what we can do to improve.”

So that means every school HAS to be producing kids whoachieve. “If you have a school that is failing its students, it’s ahard sell. If you have a successful learning environment, youhave to sell that to your community.”

It is through promoting education in your community thatpeople learn of its importance in the economy and how itbenefits them. By working together and being education’sbest advocates, Burgett expects that everyone will be able toovercome an economy of doom and replace it with solutionsthat zoom.

Greg Abbott is the Director of Communications at the MinnesotaSchool Boards Association. You can reach him atgabbott@mnmsba.org

Jim Burgett

22 MSBA JOURNAL

Robin Getman had bounced around through many differentjobs in life, ending up in restaurant management. But after awhile, she realized that she really didn’t have a passion for thejob. The only time she was happy was when she was doingtraining.

“So it’s like they say: ‘Stop doing what you don’t love, and godo what you DO love,’” she said.

And her love is training people in the six stages of power toteach how everyone can lead from their soul.

Getman, originally from Omaha, Neb., now lives inMinneapolis, but speaks to groups all over the nation abouthow to incorporate their higher stages of personal power intoleadership.

As the closing keynote speaker for MSBA’s Summer Seminar,she will use an interactive, discovery-based presentation to letschool board members and other school leaders argue andadvocate on the six stages of power in small groups.

Getman wants to energize members to fan their passion. “Iwant to affirm their decision to do this extraordinary work.Sometimes when we’re called to do this work, we arequestioned by people around us: ‘Why are you doing that?Are you paid for that?’ That challenges the best of ourselves.You have to find that you are doing this because it’s the rightthing to do and can make a difference and help children.”

Her six stages of leadership include powerlessness,achievement, purpose, reflections, power by association andwisdom. It will be up to school leaders to put them in anorder that makes sense to them.

“If we disagree, we’ll have an energetic conversation aboutwhy I put certain stages in that order,” Getman said. “Duringthe conversation, we’re expanding our awareness, getting anew perspective on what power looks like, sounds like andfeels like to examine where on the scale each person falls.”

Getman said it will also help people move to aneven greater stage of effectiveness.

“The whole session will gird their conviction sothey leave thinking: I’m not crazy; I’m rightwhere I need to be, doing exactly what I need todo for the reasons I’m doing it,” she said.

Part of the excitement of her model is usingleadership to help others achieve, despite thegloom and doom of funding and resources.

So how does anyone know when they’re leadingfrom their soul?

“You know when it’s more about others thanabout yourself,” she said.

Greg Abbott is Director of Communications for theMinnesota School Boards Association. You can reachhim at gabbott@mnmsba.org

Learning to Lead From Your

Soul

Greg Abbott

Matt Hauge, Elk River Area Public Schools

Robin Getman

ActuaryHildi Incorporated(Jill Urdahl)11800 Singletree Lane, Suite 305 Minneapolis, MN 55344952-934--5554, Fax 952-934-3027www.hildiinc.comjill.urdahl@hildiinc.com

Architects/Engineers/Facility PlannersArchitects Rego + Youngquist inc.(Paul Youngquist)7601 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 200St. Louis Park, MN 55426952-544-8941, Fax 952-544-0585www.aryarch.compyoungquist@aryarch.comATS&RPlanners/Architects/Engineers(Paul W. Erickson)8501 Golden Valley Rd., Suite 300Minneapolis, MN 55427763-545-3731Fax 763-525-3289www.atsr.comperickson@atsr.comCuningham Group Architecture,P.A.(Judith Hoskens)201 Main Street SE, Suite 325Minneapolis, MN 55414612-817-8839, Fax 612-379-4400www.cuningham.comjhoskens@cuningham.comDLR Group KKE(Jennifer Anderson-Tuttle)520 Nicollet Mall, Suite 200Minneapolis, MN 55402612-977-3500, Fax 612-977-3600www.dlrgroup.comjtuttle@dlrgroup.comGLTArchitects(Evan Larson)808 Courthouse SquareSt. Cloud, MN 56303320-252-3740, Fax 320-255-0683www.gltarchitects.comlarsone@gltarchitects.comHallberg Engineering, Inc.(Rick Lucio)1750 Commerce CourtWhite Bear Lake, MN 55110651-748-4386, Fax 651-748-9370www.hallbergengineering.comrlucio@hallbergengineering.com

ICS Consulting, Inc.(Pat Overom)5354 Edgewood DriveMounds View, MN 55112763-354-2670, Fax 763-780-2866www.ics-consult.compato@ics-consult.comINSPEC, INC.(Fred King)5801 Duluth St.Minneapolis, MN 55422763-546-3434, Fax 763-546-8669www.inspec.comfking@inspec.comMSBA Playground ComplianceProgram (in partnership withNational Playground ComplianceGroup, LLC) (Tim Mahoney)PO Box 506Carlisle, IA 50047866-345-6774, Fax 515-989-0344www.nssi-usa.comtim@playgroundcompliance.comPaulsen Architects(Bryan Paulsen)209 S. Second Street, Suite 201Mankato, MN 56001507-388-9811, Fax 507-388-1751www.paulsenarchitects.combryan@paulsenarchitects.comPerkins + Will(Steve Miller)84 10th Street S., Suite 200Minneapolis, MN 55403612-851-5094, Fax 612-851-5001www.perkinswill.comsteve.miller@perkinswill.comTSP, Inc.(Rick Wessling)18707 Old Excelsior Blvd.Minneapolis, MN 55345952-474-3291, Fax 952-474-3928www.teamtsp.comwesslingrg@teamtsp.com

Athletic Sports Floors/SurfacingFisher Tracks, Inc.(Jordan Fisher)1192 235th StreetBoone, IA 50036515-432-3191, Fax 515-432-3193www.fishertracks.comjfisher@fishertracks.com

MSBA Playground ComplianceProgram (in partnership withNational Playground ComplianceGroup, LLC) (Tim Mahoney)PO Box 506Carlisle, IA 50047866-345-6774, Fax 515-989-0344www.nssi-usa.comtim@playgroundcompliance.com

AttorneysKennedy & Graven Chartered(Neil Simmons)200 South Sixth Street, Suite 470Minneapolis, MN 55402612-337-9300, Fax 612-337-9310www.kennedy-graven.comnsimmons@kennedy-graven.comKnutson, Flynn & Deans, P.A.(Thomas S. Deans)1155 Centre Pointe Dr., Suite 10Mendota Heights, MN 55120651-222-2811, Fax 651-225-0600www.kfdmn.comtdeans@kfdmn.comPemberton, Sorlie, Rufer & Kershner, PLLP(Mike Rengel)110 N. MillFergus Falls, MN 56537218-736-5493, Fax 218-736-3950www.pemlaw.comm.rengel@pemlaw.comRatwik, Roszak & Maloney, P.A.(Jay T. Squires)730 2nd Ave. S., Suite 300Minneapolis, MN 55402612-339-0060, Fax 612-339-0038www.ratwiklaw.comjts@ratwiklaw.com

Construction Mgmt & ConsultingBossardt Corporation(Greg Franzen)8300 Norman Center Drive, Suite 770Minneapolis, MN 55437952-831-5408 or 800-290-0119Fax 952-831-1268www.bossardt.comgfranzen@bossardt.comICS Consulting, Inc.(Pat Overom)5354 Edgewood DriveMounds View, MN 55112763-354-2670, Fax 763-780-2866www.ics-consult.compato@ics-consult.com

Kraus-Anderson Construction Co.(John Huenink)8625 Rendova Street NECircle Pines, MN 55014763-792-3616, Fax 763-786-2650www.krausanderson.comjohn.huenink@krausanderson.comMetz Construction Management, Inc.(Deb Metz)20759 Eastway RoadRichmond, MN 56368612-236-8665www.metzmanagement.comdeb@metzmanagement.comMSBA Playground ComplianceProgram (in partnership withNational Playground ComplianceGroup, LLC) (Tim Mahoney)PO Box 506Carlisle, IA 50047866-345-6774, Fax 515-989-0344www.nssi-usa.comtim@playgroundcompliance.com

Educational Programs/Services Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and Blind(Linda Mitchell)615 Olof Hanson Dr.Faribault, MN 55021800-657-3996/507-384-6602Fax 507-332-5528www.msa.state.mn.uslinda.mitchell@msa.state.mn.us

Energy SolutionsJohnson Controls, Inc.(Brent Jones)2605 Fernbrook Lane N., Suite TPlymouth, MN 55447763-585-5039, Fax 763-566-2208www.johnsoncontrols.combrent.t.jones@jci.com

Financial ManagementMSBA-Sponsored Administrationand Compliance Service (A&C Service)Administration and ComplianceService(Paige McNeal, Educators Benefit Consultants, LLC)888-507-6053/763-552-6053Fax 763-552-6055www.ebcsolutions.compaige@ebcsolutions.com MSBA-Sponsored Lease PurchaseProgramTax Exempt Lease PurchaseProgram(Mary Webster, Wells FargoSecurities, LLC)800-835-2265, ext. 73110612-667-3110Fax 612-316-3309www.mnmsba.orgmary.k.webster@wellsfargo.com

24 MSBA JOURNAL

MSBA’s Vendor Directory helps connect school districts with the products and services they need. The directory is always at yourfingertips. You’ll find it printed in the back of every Journal magazine as well as on the MSBA Web site at www.mnmsba.org.Most listings in the Web version of this directory include a link so you can head instantly to a Web site or e-mail address. Thedirectory includes everything you need to know to contact a company quickly—phone numbers, fax numbers and addresses—inan easy-to-read format. If you have a service or product you would like included in this directory, please contact SueMunsterman at 507-934-2450 or smunsterman@mnmsba.org.

MSBA’s VENDOR DIRECTORY

JULY/AUGUST 2011 25

MSBA-Sponsored MNTAAB (MN Tax and Aid AnticipationBorrowing Program)MNTAAB(DeeDee Kahring, Springsted, Inc.)800-236-3033/651-223-3099Fax 651-223-3002www.springsted.comdkahring@springsted.com MSBA-Sponsored P-Card(Procurement Card) ProgramP-Card Program800-891-7910/314-878-5000Fax 314-878-5333www.powercardpfm.comMSBA-SponsoredSchoolFinances.comSchoolFinances.com(Jim Sheehan, Ann Thomas)Sheehan: 952-435-0990Thomas: 952-435-0955www.schoolfinances.comjim@schoolfinances.comann@schoolfinances.com PaySchools(Patrick Ricci)6000 Grand Ave.Des Moines, IA 50312281-545-1957, Fax: 515-243-4992www.payschools.compricci@payschools.comPFM Asset Management, LLC -MSDLAF+(Donn Hanson)45 South 7th Street, Suite 2800Minneapolis, MN 55402612-371-3720, Fax 612-338-7264www.msdlaf.orghansond@pfm.com

Floor CoveringsHiller Commercial Floors(Dave Bahr) 2909 S. BroadwayRochester, MN 55904507-254-6858, Fax 507-288-8877www.hillercarpet.comdbahr@hillercarpet.com

Food Service Products & ServicesLunchtime Solutions, Inc.(Chris Goeb)717 N. Derby LaneNorth Sioux City, SD 57049605-254-3725, Fax 605-235-0942www.lunchtimesolutions.com chris@lunchtimesolutions.com

InsuranceMinnesota School BoardsAssociation Insurance Trust(MSBAIT)(Denise Drill, Gary Lee, John Sylvester, Amy Fullenkamp-Taylor)1900 West Jefferson AvenueSt. Peter, MN 56082-3015800-324-4459, Fax 507-931-1515www.mnmsba.org www.msbait.orgddrill@mnmsba.orgglee@mnmsba.orgjsylvester@mnmsba.orgataylor@mnmsba.org

PlaygroundsMSBA Playground ComplianceProgram (in partnership withNational Playground ComplianceGroup, LLC) (Tim Mahoney)PO Box 506Carlisle, IA 50047866-345-6774, Fax 515-989-0344www.nssi-usa.comtim@playgroundcompliance.com

School Supplies/FurnitureCTB(Kevin Stachowski) 26327 Fallbrook Ave.Wyoming, MN 55092651-462-3550, Fax 651-462-8806www.ctbcorp.comoffice@ctbcorp.com

Software SystemsPaySchools(Patrick Ricci)6000 Grand Ave.Des Moines, IA 50312281-545-1957, Fax 515-243-4992www.payschools.compricci@payschools.com

Sustainability ConsultingPaulsen Architects(Bryan Paulsen)209 S. Second Street, Suite 201Mankato, MN 56001507-388-9811, Fax 507-388-1751www.paulsenarchitects.combryan@paulsenarchitects.com

TechnologyPaySchools(Patrick Ricci)6000 Grand Ave.Des Moines, IA 50312281-545-1957, Fax 515-243-4992www.payschools.compricci@payschools.com

TransportationAmerican Bus Sales, LLC(Jason Lustig)12802 N. 103rd East AvenueCollinsville, OK 74021866-574-9970, Fax 918-274-9970www.AmericanBusSales.netinfo@americanbussales.net

Hoglund Bus Co., Inc.(Jason Anderson)116 East Oakwood DrivePO Box 249Monticello, MN 55362763-295-5119, Fax 763-295-4992www.hoglundbus.comsalesmanager@hoglundbus.comNorth Central Bus & Equipment(Sandy Kiehm)2629 Clearwater Road SouthSt. Cloud, MN 56301320-257-1209, Fax 320-252-3561www.northcentralinc.comsandyk@northcentralinc.comTelin Transportation Group(Jamie Romfo)14990 Industry AvenueBecker, MN 55308866-287-7278, 763-262-3328Fax 763-262-3332www.telingroup.comjromfo@telingroup.com

Sebastian Rivera, Elk River Area Public Schools

26 MSBA JOURNAL

AdvertisersATS&R.............................................................................Page 7

Hiller Commercial Floors..............................................Page 7

Kennedy & Graven Chartered ....................................Page 23

Knutson, Flynn & Deans, P.A. .......................................Page 2

MSBA Delegate Assembly ............................................Page 28

MSBAIT...........................................................................Page 2

MSDLAF+ .....................................................................Page 26

Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, P.A. .................................Page 19

Telin Transportation Group ........................................Page 23

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Katie KlanderudDirector of Board Development

ASKMSBABEING A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER

IS A FAMILY COMMITMENT

When webecomeschool boardmembers, ourchildren areintroduced toboard serviceas well.

TThis last year was a large election year forschool districts. We had more than 400people attend the Phase I trainings heldthroughout the state. At that first training,we ask school board members to share (in10 words or less) why they ran for theschool board. There is usually one personthat jokingly states they “did it for themoney,” but we find most school boardmembers run because they want to makea positive contribution in theircommunity for kids. Oftentimes (but notalways) school board members areparents, too.

When we become school board members,our children are introduced to boardservice as well. They see the time andcommitment one needs to put into theposition in order to do it well. It’s not“just one or two meetings a month.”Board service consists of attendingbusiness meetings, committee meetings,and study sessions. For all of thesemeetings you review materials to beprepared. This takes time.

Community members approach you at alltimes and want to talk or ask questionsrelated to the school district. Thishappens at school, at work, at church, atthe grocery store, and with phone calls ore-mail. Your family sees it and often stepsaside for you to provide focused time tolisten to these people. They’ve made thecommitment (and sacrifice), too, for youto serve.

As a school board member, you should setyour own limits. If you’re at an event towatch your son pitch a ball game, let theconstituent that is asking you a questionknow that you appreciate their concern,but that you’re there for your son (child)tonight and that you’d like to talk withthem about their question at anothertime. Set a time or offer for them to giveyou call. What happens when you get a

phone call at 10 p.m. at night and acommunity member is on the other endwanting to talk? During my board service,10 p.m. was bedtime at our house and itwas fair for me to let the caller know that,but then set up another time for us to talk.

When our family found out who ourchildren’s teachers were going to be eachyear, I made a conscientious effort to talkto those teachers before school started tolet them know that I wanted to come intothe classroom as “Mary’s Mom” first. Ineeded them to let me be a parent and tohave open, honest communication withthem about my child, their student. Mychildren also knew that they were thechild of a school board member, and thatthey should not expect, nor would theyreceive, special treatment from staffbecause of it.

If your child is asked by a community orstaff member how you’re going to vote orwhat they know about a school issue, letthem know their best response is, “You’llhave to ask my parent (mom or dad)about that.” It’s important to remembernot to talk school district business aroundyour kids. What they don’t hear…theycan’t repeat.

School board members are held to ahigher ethical standard than any otherelected office. You’re making decisionsabout what people are most passionateabout: their kids. Your school boardservice is important, but you have to beable to be a family member as well.

It’s OK to set your limits, agree on somefamily guidelines and recognize thatbeing a school board member is a familycommitment.

1900 West Jefferson Avenue, St. Peter, MN 56082-3015

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MANKATO, MN 56001

Do YOU want to make a di�erence for your students at the state Capitol?

Participate in the 2011 MSBA Delegate Assembly!☑ HOW DOES IT WORK?

�e MSBA Delegate Assembly — comprised entirely of school board members — sets MSBA’s legislative platform for the upcoming session. School board members elect delegates by mail ballot. �ese delegates debate and vote on member-dra�ed resolutions at the annual Delegate Assembly. �e platform adopted by the Delegate Assembly is pursued by your MSBA lobbying team with the assistance of engaged school board members.

☑ WHAT’S THE TIMELINE?MSBA will mail out Delegate Assembly nomination forms in early July. Each school board is entitled to nominate up to three board members. MSBA will compile the nominees and send out ballots in early September. �e elected delegates will be announced in mid-October. Pre-Delegate Assembly meetings will be held in mid-November; the Delegate Assembly is held in early December.

☑ WHAT DO I HAVE TO GAIN?Your input is crucial to forming MSBA’s legislative platform and helping support Minnesota’s students. You will:▶ Help develop MSBA’s

legislative platform▶ Become more connected

with the legislative process▶ Gain statewide perspective

on K-12 education policyand funding issues

Contact Grace Keliher, Kirk Schneidawind and Barb Hoffman at 800-324-4459 for questions or more information.

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