Henning HEA, superintendent to see increase in base salary
News | Published on February 27, 2024 at 2:02pm EST | Author: henningmaster
0School to hold graduation on May 10
By Chad Koenen
Publisher
Henning School District staff received a bit of clarity last week as the school board formally approved a master agreement with the Henning Education Association and the district’s superintendent.
During its regularly scheduled meeting last Tuesday night, the Henning School Board adopted a new contract with the teacher’s union that calls for a 3.5 percent increase in steps and lanes for each of the next two years. The contract also calls for an increase in insurance contributions by $700 in the first year of the contract and $600 in the second year, as well as an increase in $100 in compensation for several extracurricular activities.
The contract will cover 2023-25 and featured several other updates like an increase in the longevity one-time stipend for teachers who have been with the school for 15 years to $1,200 and allowing the school district to utilize a maximum of five E-learning days as makeup days as needed.
In addition to the contract with the teacher’s union, the school board approved a new three year contract with school superintendent Melissa Sparks. Her new contract, which will run through June 30, 2027, calls for a 3.5 percent salary increase each year, as well as an increase in health insurance contributions of $250 per year for each year of the contract. The school district will also increase a 403B contribution by $900 per year and allow up to five days of unused vacation to be paid out at the end of each contract year.
Updated budget
Prior to the start of the regularly scheduled meeting last week, the Henning School Board held a work session to go over a revised budget for the 2023-24 school year.
As part of a presentation from business manager Rudy Martinez, the school board learned that its general fund increased by $107,033 last year. Martinez said the increase was due to conservative budgeting by accounting for less students than anticipated on the revenue side, while overestimating expenses.
“We over forecast expenditures and under forecast revenues. That is a very common strategy,” he said. “A very good strategy gave us a really good break.”
The increase in the general fund came just one year after the school district deficit spent approximately $800,000 in its general fund. The general fund is essentially where all of the day-to-day bills for things like daily operations of the school district, staffing, utilities and other common expenses are paid from.
During his presentation, Martinez presented the school board with a revised budget that took into account the recently settled contract with the teachers union and the school superintendent, as well as an increase in school funding. The original proposed budget showed a deficit of $66,368 in the general fund, while the new budget shows revenues exceeding expenditures by nearly $200,000. Much of that increase is due to approximately $341,000 in additional state aid the school district will receive.
While the school district welcomed the new state aid, Martinez said the 4 percent increase in the funding formula didn’t keep up with inflation that hit nearly 7.8 percent last year.
After another 2 percent increase in the funding formula for the 2025 fiscal year, state aid will be tied to inflation moving forward. The state aid the school districts receive will automatically increase to match inflation, but will be capped at a 3 percent increase each year. There will also be no floor to increasing the state aid, so if there is no increase in inflation the school district will not receive an increase in state funding.
Martinez said the school district is in good shape financially as it gets ready for an expansive remodeling project that will begin this summer.
In other news
• Approved the hiring of Tawni Thorson as a paraprofessional for 31.25 hours per week and Brendan Hart as the Henning fishing league coach.
• Accepted the following donations: $500 from KLN for Pages for a Purpose, $250 from Arvig for Pages for a Purpose, $100 from Henning Township for summer rec and swimming, and $150 from Rahn’s Oil for summer rec and swimming.
• Approved changing the date of graduation to Friday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the school. Henning School Principal Thomas Williams said the families of the senior class were surveyed and wanted to graduate in the main gym and expressed a desire to move graduation ahead a week to make that happen.
• Approved a quitclaim deed regarding parcel number 31000200134002. The 1/2 acre parcel is reportedly of no need or use to the district. Steve and Jodi Misegades agreed to pay any fees or costs related to the matter, while Sparks and Reed Reinbold will sign off on the deed.
• Received the activities director report from Randy Misegades which highlighted the need for the school district to find an alternative location for summer and fall volleyball practices, as well as summer basketball practices since both school gyms will be off limits this summer due to the construction project. It was reported the programs use the gym for about four hours per week during the summer and options include renting gym space from another school or utilizing a place like the Maslowski Center in Wadena.
• Heard from Sparks that the school district is looking for office space to rent this summer as the school will essentially be shut down as part of its HVAC project. Sparks said the school board can utilize the Landmark Center for board meetings and she is currently discussing a potential to rent part of the former Stueve Realty building in downtown Henning for office space for administration this summer.