On Monday, Feb. 11, the Monroe School Board:
• Accepted the resignation of Monroe Virtual School teacher Matthew Steffect; although, it denied his request to waive the $400 liquidation assessment for breach of contract normally charged. Steffeck, who began working for the virtual school this school year, said he is taking a position with another district because of uncertainty he feels with the future of virtual schools such as Monroe's. School board members Bob Erb and Larry Eakins said that, while they are sympathetic to Steffeck's situation, it is no different than the position other teachers have found themselves in at times of budget cuts.
• Learned the district will be seeking input from parents of 2007 and 2008 graduates in focus groups in early April. The focus groups are an offshoot of focus groups for 2007 grads over Christmas break that attracted only four participants. The students were asked questions concerning their education at Monroe High School and how well it prepared them for their future. High school principal Mark Burandt said he was disappointed with the turnout, and he and Superintendent Larry Brown and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jennifer Thayer are looking at ways to increase participation. Options might be using online surveys or mailing surveys to recent grads. The district will also look at following up with graduates three and five years after graduation to see if graduates' perceptions about their high school experience have changed over time.
• Expelled a student in closed session. Brown said the district will continue to provide educational services for the student. Brown said he could not release the students age, school or the reason for explusion.
• Issued notices of non-renewal for the four teachers in the district. Brown would not say the reason for the non-renewal, other than it was not budgetary, nor which schools the teachers are from, citing confidentiality for personnel issues. The agenda for Monday's closed session listed the purpose as Non-renewal - teaching staff/performance/licensure.
- By Mary Jane Grenzow
• Accepted the resignation of Monroe Virtual School teacher Matthew Steffect; although, it denied his request to waive the $400 liquidation assessment for breach of contract normally charged. Steffeck, who began working for the virtual school this school year, said he is taking a position with another district because of uncertainty he feels with the future of virtual schools such as Monroe's. School board members Bob Erb and Larry Eakins said that, while they are sympathetic to Steffeck's situation, it is no different than the position other teachers have found themselves in at times of budget cuts.
• Learned the district will be seeking input from parents of 2007 and 2008 graduates in focus groups in early April. The focus groups are an offshoot of focus groups for 2007 grads over Christmas break that attracted only four participants. The students were asked questions concerning their education at Monroe High School and how well it prepared them for their future. High school principal Mark Burandt said he was disappointed with the turnout, and he and Superintendent Larry Brown and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jennifer Thayer are looking at ways to increase participation. Options might be using online surveys or mailing surveys to recent grads. The district will also look at following up with graduates three and five years after graduation to see if graduates' perceptions about their high school experience have changed over time.
• Expelled a student in closed session. Brown said the district will continue to provide educational services for the student. Brown said he could not release the students age, school or the reason for explusion.
• Issued notices of non-renewal for the four teachers in the district. Brown would not say the reason for the non-renewal, other than it was not budgetary, nor which schools the teachers are from, citing confidentiality for personnel issues. The agenda for Monday's closed session listed the purpose as Non-renewal - teaching staff/performance/licensure.
- By Mary Jane Grenzow