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SLEEPY EYE -- The District 84 Board of Education unanimously approved the 2023 payable 2024 levy Wednesday.
Approval of the $1,013,292.62 2024 levy came on a motion by Casey Coulson, seconded by Brian Nelson. The levy is $15,852 (1.54%) less than the 2023 levy, due mostly to completion of elementary addition HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) bonds, said District 84 Finance Director Amanda Boomgarten.
An audit presentation by Abdo of Mankato showed no instances of non compliance. The audit showed school district average daily membership increased to 569 this year, compared to 543 last year.
A 2022-23 World's Best Workforce summary and Achievement and Integration progress report by Samantha Whittington and Kevin Schneider showed most school district goals were met. The school district reported a 28.2% 2023 MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment) high school math achievement gap between free and reduced and non-free and reduced populations that did not meet the established goal.
The school district offers Enhancing Math intervention classes for additional student math support and helping them prepare for the MCA math test. Although progress has been made from the 2019 baseline, the 2023 goal missed by one percent, according to the report.
In addition, the school district used different programs honing student reading skills such as requiring students to participate in silent, sustained reading two days a week for 30 minutes a day. Teachers have also embedded various strategies analyzing fiction and non-fiction text in class, enabling goals in that area to be met.
Sleepy Eye is part of the Cottonwood River Integration Collaborative (CRIC) along with Cedar Mountain, New Ulm, Redwood Valley, and Springfield. In collaboration with South Central Technical College (SCTC), sixth-graders attended a two-day college and career development integration program at SCTC.
The collaborative intentionally mixed students between racially isolated and non-racially isolated schools so they had the opportunity to learn from each other's uniqueness and attend the career fair. The collaborative offers summer opportunities allowing further student integration.
The Sleepy Eye Servicemen's club donated $1,000 to support athletics and arts programs.