I’m guessing in the coming months, you will start to see more of the data request costs coming through.”

Director of Human Resources Cathy Moen

To watch the full school board meeting, visit Hastings Community TV’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@HastingsCommunityTV

The Oct. 23 District 200 School Board meeting discussed the 2024 district vision cards, immunization requirements and set the date for the next Community Collaboration Committee, as well as received donations from the Hastings Rotary Club.
Craig Beissel, President of the Hastings Rotary Club, appeared before the Hastings School Board for the third year running to present a check to the Hastings School District in the amount of $2,500. Beissel cited the support and cooperation of the high school athletic department at the event including volunteers from the football, swim and dive, volleyball, soccer, and tennis teams.
“Throughout the day of the event, we had student athletes loading and unloading band equipment, helping with guest check-in and ticketing, selling cheese curds and picking up garbage, and being available for whatever surprise or need that came up,” said Beissel.
The students’ work represents more than 150 volunteer hours across the event.
The October meeting also represented the first time the new student board members presented about happenings in schools across the district. These reports ranged from eighth grade band students Joseph H., Tyson K., Savannah B., Katey A., Elizabeth B., Joe M., Jayson R. and Miriam G. being selected to be members of the Minnesota Junior Winds Honor Band, presented by Victoria Steinke, to the high school presenting “CLUE: the Play” Nov. 15-17, presented by Briseis Rusnacko.
Director of Human Resources Cathy Moen also presented on the district’s legal fees since the last school board meeting. While there have been no legal expenses tied to data requests, the district had received three additional data requests and is currently working on completing five data requests, one of which is the massive 115,000 email-request regarding the policy committee that was received in July. While there were no legal bills regarding data requests to report this month, those bills are forthcoming.
“I’m guessing in the coming months, you will start to see more of the data request costs coming through,” said Moen, though she was unable to give an estimate as to how much those might be.
Data collected from the 2024 district vision card was presented at the meeting ranging from academic achievements to participation in clubs and sports. For academic achievements, the vision card showcases generally stable trends since the COVID-19 Pandemic. Data from the card dates back to the 2021-2022 school year. Since then, ACT scores for 11th and 12th graders have remained stable at 21.9, still nearly three points above the national average of 19. One area that has risen since the 2021-22 school year is the passing rate of fifth to ninth graders up to 88% last year from 76% in the 2021-22 school year.
Other metrics of note from the survey include the number of times Hastings Middle School students accessed recurrent support services for mental health, up to 5,343 times from last year’s 320. This massive spike represents the automatic check-in system that began this school year.
The school board had a first reading for an update to the language of the district’s Immunization Requirement policy, or Policy 530. An increasingly divisive issue in the post-pandemic world, the policy was up for its regular three-year review. The changes to the policy include an addition to the Exemptions From Immunization Requirements section that emphasizes parent’s ability to not have their children vaccinated for medical reasons or conscientiously held beliefs. It says, “The district and staff will respect the rights of parents and students to make immunization decisions for themselves.”
In a statement about the change, Tate said “Minnesota parents continue to have the option to opt their children out of vaccinations if they choose, as is included in the policy. The added statement is to reinforce that the district and staff respect that statutory right. This was added due to several constituents who expressed concerns in the past about statements that had been made regarding Covid shots. This statement is not in line with MSBA's model policy but […] school boards can customize their policies as they choose.”
The Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) does provide model policies for school boards across the state, including Policy 530. When asked about the change, MSBA General Council Terry Morrow said that despite the fact that the added statement isn’t in the model policy, “this language is consistent with what MSBA model policy is,” adding, “We wrote a policy that respects the rights of parents and students.”
The school board also announced the date of the next Community Collaboration Committee, which will be held on Monday, Nov. 18 in the Hastings High School lecture hall. The meeting will focus on the district’s strategic plan, but as usual also functions as a forum for parents and community members to discuss the happenings within District 200.
To watch the full school board meeting, visit Hastings Community TV’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@HastingsCommunityTV