Frederiksen Resigns Teaching Position; School Board Reviews Lighting Bids

The Milbank School District Board of Education met in regular session Tuesday, March 15. The board accepted the resignation of Joe Frederiksen as elementary physical education teacher and assistant track coach. He previously resigned as head girls basketball coach, but now has submitted his teaching resignation. Frederiksen has accepted a position with the Elkton School District.

“Thank you for the opportunities and professional development the Milbank School District has provided me,” expressed Frederiksen. “I will miss all the staff, students, district, and this community.” Frederiksen has been employed by the district since 2005. He was hired as a paraprofessional before serving as kindergarten teacher from 2006 to 2008. He became the elementary physical education instructor in 2008. Joe has also served in numerous coaching positions. “We thank Joe for his years of service to the district and wish him well,” stated Superintendent Tim Graf.

The district received five bids for the lighting retrofit at the middle school/high school building. Bids ranged from $229,000 to $312,000. “Although we were pleased with the number of competitive bids we received, the board tabled accepting the bids to give us time to review all the bid documents,” explained Graf. Action is expected at a special board meeting Tuesday, March 29.

The board also voted to cast a vote as a district to give approval to the Northern Plains Insurance Pool to move to a partially self-funded pool. “Schools are expected to receive health insurance renewal rates and vote on this on March 24,” Graf said. He also explained this would not go into effect until July 1, 2017 and does not affect the district’s renewal rates or current health insurance plans.

The final action item followed an executive session. Approval was given to add a special education position at Koch and/or the middle school to address the increasing needs of students.

In other discussions, Graf informed the board that spending of the general fund is at 56.13% of budgeted expenditures in comparison to 55.36% a year ago. “Although we are tracking ahead of last year’s spending rate and might spend above our historical average of 98%, we expect to still spend below budget,” he stated.

Graf also briefly gave a legislative update. “I am pleasantly surprised that we have gotten to this point with legislature.” A summary of all the bills passed can be found on the Department of Education website.

The Milbank School District received $1,500 from the Shopko Foundation as of result of its Help Us Give Back Campaign. Graf also informed the board School and Public Lands money was received in the amount of $67,991.41. The district had budgeted for $70,000.

School board petitions are due to the district by Tuesday, March 29, with a June 7 election date. Other reports were given by principals Dan Snaza and Tim Lease.

The board of education will meet in special session Tuesday, March 29, at 6 p.m. to finalize negotiations and take action on lighting bids. The board will meet in regular session Monday, April 11, at 7 p.m.