NEW ULM — The District 88 School Board agreed to a compromise for additional fees to be paid to the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL).

The board passed a resolution to make payments on a per-pupil basis instead of the arbitrary costs to schools by class assignment from the league.

The district has already paid its annual membership fee to the league in July. It was understood at that time the membership fee was a significant increase from last year. The 2019 fee was $2,640 but this year’s fee was $4,427. However, after making this payment the league submitted another COVID fee of $9,000, bringing the cost for MSHSL to $13,427.

MSHSL anticipates a budget deficit because of the cancellation of state tournaments and the loss of revenue, and has assessed each school district a fee to help recover that loss. New Ulm High School is looking at a $9,000 fee.

Superintendent Jeff Bertrang said the district asked for additional information on the COVID fee but has not received any additional guidance from the league.

The area school district is willing to pay for membership in the league but is seeking a more equitable deal. The payment rate set by MSHSL had a higher impact on the operating budgets of smaller school districts. Bertrang said that Springfield Superintendent Keith Kottke worked with an attorney to develop a resolution regarding new fees and how to better improve distribution. It was determined if the districts paid an additional fee of $11.16 per pupil the budget impact of all the districts in the league would be equitable and MSHSL would also receive higher revenue overall. Under this model, New Ulm would pay $6,550.92 over two installments for membership fees.

Bertrang said for all the district superintendents working on this problem, this system makes more sense. He recommended the board pass a resolution adopting a fee based on the per-pupil cost.

Board Chair Steve Gag said the resolution seems like a fair compromise.

Board member Denny Waloch asked if this compromise was gaining momentum in the rest of the state.

Bertrang said similar resolutions are passing in other school districts over the state.

Board member Jonathan Schiro made the motion to approved the resolution with Waloch seconding. The resolution was unanimously approved.

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The District 88 School Board approved the certification of the 2021 taxes for the 2021-2022 school year. The 2021 tax levy is $8,507,640.85, an increase of $108,649.08 or 1.29% from the 2020 property tax increase.

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The board approved a learning plan update and recommendation for January. The plan would bring pre-Kindergarten to Grade 4 students back to In-Person learning on Jan. 4, with Grades 5-12 in Hybrid Learning. Grades 5-12 would move to In-Person on Jan. 11.

The motion puts a plan in place for students to return by these dates pending regional support.

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The board accepted with regret and appreciation the resignation/retirement of Jefferson Elementary STEM teacher Beth Sletta effective December 23. Sletta has been a teacher at New Ulm Public Schools since 1987.