CAL to remove Spring Break from calendar

The CAL Community School Board will be making another change to the upcoming school calendar.

At their regular meeting on Monday, June 14, the board scheduled another public hearing to amend the 2021-22 school year calendar. The original calendar included a week off for Spring Break, operating under the assumption that the state would allow snow days to effectively be eliminated through virtual learning. Without the need to account for missed days due to hazardous weather, the extra flexibility allowed for a week of Spring Break.

However, legislation that would have allowed schools to use virtual learning in lieu of snow days did not pass. Thus, the school calendar will have to be adjusted to remove the Spring Break.

Superintendent Todd Lettow expressed some frustration at the state not allowing districts to more fully embrace virtual learning.

"We spent all this time learning how to do things virtually," said Lettow. "That would be a perfect time to get refreshed."

The board also approved the use of additional COVID funds to supplement Professional Development pay for the staff. Teachers that do professional development beyond their normal expectations can be compensated with stipends, utilizing $99,936 in funds that have otherwise yet to be allocated.

In other business, the board approved the Administrator Contract for 2021-22, with administration receiving the same 3% pay increase as the teachers and support staff.

The board also awarded bids for fuel, milk, and bread. Out of three bids, AgVantage offered the low bid for fuel. Anderson Erickson was the lone bidder for milk and the district had to seek out a bid from Pan-O-Gold Baking Company, who will be servicing Hampton-Dumont.

Student meal prices will remain free for students in 2021-22, but the cost of seconds will be increasing from $0.50 to $1.00. The cost of a second milk will also be increasing from $0.35 to $0.40.

For parents dropping off pre-schoolers this year, three-year-old pre-school has been changed to start at 8:00 a.m. and go to 11:00 a.m., bringing it inline with the rest of the students. This schedule has previously been offset by fifteen minutes to avoid congestion at the drop-off points but that turned out to cause more problems than it solved.

"Originally we thought, traffic wise, it would be easier," said Principal Abby Meyer. "But our busses are gone by 8:00."

Finally, the board approved the renewal of the district's subscription to Simbli, the software that manages the district's agendas and policies, at a cost of $3,100.