Latest news with #ByronPublicSchools
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BOLD School Board votes 4-2 to seek new superintendent amid budget shortfall
May 2---- In a surprise move, members on Monday voted 4-2 to begin a search for a new superintendent instead of negotiating a new contract with Superintendent Jim Menton. The vote came after board members initially considered a motion to begin negotiating a new contract. Board members must now decide how to conduct that search under a relatively tight time frame. Superintendent Menton's contract ends June 30. Board members at the April 28 meeting cited concerns over the district's financial predicament — and worries that the community will not trust the board and current superintendent to solve it — in their discussions prior to the vote. Another factor — not mentioned by board members but referenced by Menton — was his recent interview as one of five finalists for the superintendent position with the Byron Public Schools in southeast Minnesota. BOLD board members Todd Sheehan and Greg Peppel voted "nay" on the motion for a new superintendent search, while members Todd Frank and Sandy Benson made the motion for the search and were joined in "aye" votes by MaryElla Clouse and Brad Aaseth. Brad Reffereth was absent. Board Chairman Todd Frank stepped aside from his role as chair so that he would be free to urge members to rescind the motion to negotiate a new contract with Menton and start a new search. School board members held a closed session with Menton one month earlier to evaluate his performance. Under the Minnesota Open Meeting law, a public body may close a meeting to evaluate the performance of an employee under its authority. Menton told board members that he left that meeting with the impression that he had the support to move forward and fix the district's financial situation. The district is on track for a $700,000 shortfall or greater in this year's budget. It could grow to as large as $900,000 in what Menton described as a "worst-case scenario." The district's financial mess came to light following the resignation of the school district's business manager in September. that the district had asked for a criminal investigation into the business manager's actions. He told the board then that the district was facing a shortfall of $700,000. The budget had not allocated sufficient revenues, nor identified sources for them, for significant transportation and payroll expenses included in the budget. Chairman Frank initially raised the concerns on Monday about negotiating a new contract. He said he had been contacted by 17 different community members, as well as by five former school board members, who said they did not want to see the board renew the superintendent's contract. "I don't think the trust will be there by the community, and once trust is lost, we've lost it," said Frank after explaining his concerns. Other board members expressed favorable opinions of the superintendent, as well as concerns about the fiscal dilemma. "The bottom line," said Clouse, "is he is responsible for balancing the budget and ensuring we do not go into debt." After the motion was made to search for a new superintendent, Menton said, "I understand. I understand completely and this has been a massive debacle. (There is a) need to accept responsibility and I certainly do. As everyone knows, there have been some pretty massive extenuating circumstances that (I'm) just not at liberty to fully discuss. ... It's been an extremely frustrating year." Menton explained that he had left the last board meeting with the impression that he would continue. He added that he had "taken a lot of flak for taking a job interview without the opportunity to fix what has happened here." He said he was not sure that the problem can be fixed in one year. "I am certainly motivated to fix this," he said. Sheehan said he had also left the last meeting with the impression that board members were going to give the superintendent a chance to fix what happened, adding: "All of this wasn't his issue." Clouse pointed out that the BOLD School Board does not have a finance committee in place. She said there were many extenuating circumstances, and that she felt partially responsible for not having spotted the budget problems in the making. "That is what makes this such a difficult decision. I believe in giving people a second chance," she said. Menton has served as superintendent of the BOLD School District since May 2021 He led an effort that saw voters in November 2023 approve nearly $40 million in financing to address facilities needs in the district serving the communities of Bird Island, Olivia and Lake Lillian. Prior to becoming superintendent, Menton had served for five years as BOLD's high school principal. He had been an assistant principal for the Westbrook-Walnut Grove School District before joining BOLD.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Byron Public Schools prepares to revert to previous Title IX policy without reference to gender identity
Feb. 4—BYRON, Minn. — In the wake of changes on the national stage, Byron Public Schools is getting ready to revert to an earlier version of its Title IX policy that would eliminate certain definitions related to the LGBTQ+ community. The district's School Board discussed the issue on Monday, Feb. 3. A vote on the change is expected at a future meeting. The version of the policy the district is reverting to doesn't include specific references to sexual orientation or gender identity. Leading up to the conversation about the policy change, School Board member Alisha Eiken read a statement about her support for students who could be impacted. "I know we have families and students who are feeling unsafe as our federal laws change," Eiken said. "Regardless of how our federal laws change over the coming months and years, our district is committed to all students' safety and well-being. To all of our students, and especially our trans and nonbinary students, you are loved, and you are needed, and you are a very valuable part of our district." The change would be a quick turnaround, as Byron Public Schools approved the most recent version of the policy in December. The policy currently states the district "does not discriminate on the basis of sex, including discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity." The version of the policy that the district will revert to states "the school district does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its education or activities." It does not reference anything related to sexual orientation or gender identity. The current version of the policy is 29 pages long. The version the district will go back to is 19 pages. Superintendent Mike Neubeck said he had spoken about the policy earlier that day with the district's legal counsel. Neubeck said the district is obligated to change the policy since the current version of the federal Title IX rule, which the district's policy is based on, is no longer valid. On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the U.S. Department of Education released a statement to further elaborate on the situation. According to the statement, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky "issued a decision that vacated the entirety of the 2024 Title IX Rule nationwide." The statement from the Department of Education also cited President Donald Trump's executive order titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." The statement went on to say that the Department of Education "must enforce Title IX consistent with President Trump's Order." Eiken asked if the district could amend other policies to protect students in light of the fact that its Title IX policy will no longer have that specific language. In response, Board member David Wernimont clarified that the district's policy on harassment, violence and bullying already includes language referring to sexual orientation and gender identity and that it wouldn't need to be amended further because of that. The conversation about updating the district's policies came amid even larger changes in the national news. On Monday, the same day as Byron Public Schools' meeting, multiple media outlets began reporting that President Trump was weighing a decision to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education entirely.
