The Northfield School Board approved the final budget reductions for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years at its meeting on Monday
night. Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said, while the board followed most of the recommendations made by the prioritization group, it did make a few adjustments.
Hillmann said the Elementary Portage Program will continue for at least one more year. The recommendation had been to discontinue the program with the elementary section ending at the end of the current school year and the secondary program ending at the end of the 22-23 school year.
Instead, Hillmann said, the plan now is to extend the elementary program for at least one more year, while the school district carries out a direct marketing program hoping to entice students from other districts that do not have a state approved, full time online program, though open enrollment.
Another change to the recommendations was the preservation of the Agricultural Education partnership Northfield share with the Randolph school district. While there are just ten students in the program this year, there was a significant outcry from the public about cutting it from the curriculum. Hillmann said the district staff did some further investigating and found there was more money available to the district than had originally been thought. With the additional funding, he said, they will be able to keep the program in place.
Finally, the board made the decision to reduce the amount of each annual budget kept in reserve from 16% to 14%. Hillmann said this will give the district more flexibility in the face of future reductions should they become necessary. While the decision to reduce the reserve amount was a difficult one, as the 16% figure has been a point of pride within the district, Dr. Hillmann pointed out the average district of comparable size to Northfield keeps 11% in reserve, and Northfield is still two percentage points higher than the next closest district reserve in the Big 9 Conference.
Hillmann said these were difficult decisions, and he regrets they had to be made at all, but in the end, it was the right and proper thing to do.
“This is how responsible school districts act. We’re acting with a sense of urgency now, because we know what’s coming and we want to avoid an emergency in the future. So, while all of these cuts are very painful – they impact our friends, our neighbors, most importantly our students – they are the responsible thing for the school district at this point, and they are proactive in nature.”
There could still be some smaller cuts made over the next few years, Hillmann said, as the district reacts to changing conditions.
City looking at ‘mini roundabout’ for Jefferson intersection
During Tuesday night’s work session, the Northfield City Council heard a presentation from City Engineer Dave Bennett and traffic engineer
Chad Jorgenson of SEH Engineering, regarding the intersection at Jefferson Road and Jefferson Parkway, the rapidly approaching problems the intersection will face, and a recommendation of a solution that would be new to Northfield.
Jorgenson’s firm conducted a study of the intersection and the surrounding area, which includes two medical clinics on opposite ends, the high school, FiftyNorth and Bridgewater Elementary school two blocks east, and a high density of apartments in the area. The intersection is notorious for backing up on Jefferson Parkway moving east and west at certain parts of the day, but Jorgenson said, based on projected population growth, that by 2025, it will become a problematic intersection, and if nothing is done, it will be over capacity and fail by 2045.
Jorgenson said SEH is recommending construction of a mini roundabout in the intersection.
The idea is to construct a roundabout within the intersection without expanding that intersection’s footprint. The major difference between a standard roundabout and the mini roundabout, is the lack of a landscaped center island. Instead, a raised concrete island is constructed in the middle designed to be driven over by large trucks, busses and emergency vehicles, allowing for the smaller size. Four crosswalks would be constructed with pedestrian activated flashing lights to signal alert oncoming vehicles to foot traffic in the intersection.
Members of the council seemed open to the idea, but there were many questions about pedestrian access and safety, and more accommodations for bicyclists.
As this was a work session, there was no vote taken on the idea. It will be brought back to the council in a future meeting for further discussion.
Career Exploration Day set for May 17
Northfield Career Exploration Day, a job fair style event designed to help students start thinking about the possibilities for their post high school careers is set for next Tuesday, from 7:30am to 1:40 pm at the Northfield Middle School.
The event, which began in 2015, will bring dozens of employers and industry representatives to the school. Students from the middle and high schools, the Area Learning Center, and Arcadia Charter School will have opportunities to better understand different industries and see what a career in a given field looks like.
Seventh- and eighth-grade students will attend a morning presentation followed by hands-on experience at business booths. At each booth, students can talk with local business people about what their jobs are like and interact with tools or products from the career field.
After lunch, 10th-grade students from Northfield High School will attend breakout sessions geared toward career interest areas and possible career paths. While visiting the various booths, students will get up close experience with snowplows, tractors, a glider, a cement truck, squad cars, a coach bus, and more, by climbing into a driver’s seat, looking under the hood at vehicle engines, and experiencing the technology first-hand.
At the end of the day, several employers, include Daikin, FORCE America, HomeTown Credit Union, K&G, Northfield Lines, Three Links, and Trystar, will interview 12th-grade students for potential jobs after graduation.
There is still time for employers to sign up to participate, but they should contact Heather LaCroix at hlacroix@forceamerica.com or Candace Godfrey at candace@healthycommunityinitiative.org as soon as possible.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net.
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