There are 2 questions on the November ballot regarding the Northfield School District. Aside from the $109 million bond referendum for 2 new schools, there’s an Operating Levy of nearly $2 million. Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said the first question is to increase the per pupil levy by $470 to bring the funding level up to $1,967. Hillmann said, “the operating levy is really important because it helps us fill in the gap with the chronic underfunding that the State has
had of Minnesota schools over the last 30 years. And that pays for teachers and for staff to work with kids. Levies are for learning is what we say”. To learn more go to northfieldschools.org. This Wednesday at 8:45, Jeff Johnson will talk with Tristan Cox who will discuss reasons to vote no on the referendum.
A “disconnect” connected to allow School Board to hire coaches
The Northfield School board can hire coaches. Previously when the District needed to add a coach or advisor for co-curricular activities, Hillmann said, “it was actually part of the collective bargaining process with the Northfield Education Association and goes back a long way in terms of just being included in the contract”. There was a bit of a disconnect as the Board is authorized to hire an additional teacher but the way the contract read before was they had to agree with the Association on movement of coaching staff. He said, “so if there was an activity that just didn’t have enough participation to run any more, we would wait till the next negotiations process to remove that. Pretty laborious waiting 2 years to do that”. In this round of contracts, that was removed, giving the Board the authority.
LWV holding Council seat forum tonight
The Northfield/Cannon Falls League of Women Voters will be holding a candidate forum tonight regarding the completion of the At-Large City Council seat vacated by Rhonda Pownell when she became Mayor. Greg Colby was appointed to fill the vacancy for 2017 but an election must be held by law to complete the last year. Colby, Don McGee and Jon Denison are all vying for the seat. The forum will be held at 7 o’clock in Northfield City Council Chambers. There will be opportunities for the public to submit questions to the candidates following their formal presentations. KYMN will have all three candidates on the morning show this week. Colby will be on at 7:20 tomorrow morning, McGee will be on at 7:20 on Thursday morning and Denison will be on at 7:20 on Friday morning. The Chamber of Commerce, KYMN and the Northfield News will be holding a candidate forum on October 30th from 8am to 9:30am in Council Chambers.
Time for Turkey Trot sign up
Service Above Self, the Rotary Club’s motto and what Northfield Rotarians live by. One of their sponsorships is the International student exchange program. Rick Estenson said, once again, Northfield is “off the charts” with 13 students currently outbound. They have 5 inbound from around the world. Immersion in the cultures makes a lasting impression. Another important part of their mission is to eradicate polio around the world. To help them do that, and raise money for the Northfield Food Shelf, they will be holding their annual Turkey Trot on November 23rd. Robert Bierman proposed the idea of a 5K run/walk on Thanksgiving 17 years ago. From 180 people that first year, the event has become a family tradition for many. Starting last year they introduced the Free Range turkey trot for those that might not be able to make it in person. Sign up by November 9th to be assured a t-shirt! Get all the details and sign up through their website at northfieldrotary.org.
