Enrollment at the Perham-Dent public schools dipped below 1,500, down 12 from the start of the year.
The 2006-07 school year started with an enrollment of 1,502, and as of Nov. 8, the enrollment was 1,490.
Nine students moved out of the district, one quit school, and two students transferred to the Alternative Learning Center, according to the monthly enrollment report, presented at the Nov. 15 Perham-Dent School Board meeting.
Crisis Management plan OK'd
A revised Crisis Management policy received final approval by the board.
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The policy requires at least five school lock-down drills, five school fire drills and one tornado drill each year.
The policy is modeled after a collaborative state and federal plan involving multiple agencies, including the federal Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Numerous other policies are also on the Perham-Dent School Board table, pending final approval.
These include:
----bullying prohibition
----public involvement, complaints and Data Practices considerations at school board meetings
----community education
----video surveillance
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----use of peace officers and crisis team to remove students from school grounds
----use of school equipment
----visitor access to the schools
----distribution of materials on district property
Old admin building needs $10,000 sprinkler system
In other action at the Nov. 15 school board session, buildings and grounds superintendent Fred Sailer reported that the old administrative building is essentially the final school building that needs upgrading to meet fire code. Specifically, a $10,000 sprinkling system for fire protection.
The old brick building houses the Alternative Learning Center. With students utilizing the space on a regular schedule, the fire code standards are higher than if the building was only used as office space.
Personnel matters
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In personnel matters, medical leave was approved for Eilert Helm; leave of absence for English teacher Carrie Haugen; and a short term leave for para-professional Colleen Kroenke was also approved.
The board accepted the resignation of head softball coach Pamela Young, who is also the grade 8 girls basketball coach.
Child care leave was approved for Kimberly Flatau, and leave was extended until Jan. 2 for Nancy Schmitz. She is the mother of wounded Iraq war veteran Lucas Schmitz, who is scheduled to be home for the holiday season.
Students to graduate early
Six Perham High School students have requested to graduate early, after the second trimester. They are Carrie Kurtzal, Holly Ehrichs, Cassie Jensen, Genea Arndt, Benjamin Rehm and Carmen Guck.
Student seeks seat on state student council
In other high school news, Principal John Rutten reported that Perham student Abby Huebsch is running for a position on the statewide student council.
At the middle school, Principal Kitty Krueger reported that the Prairie Wind Middle School has installed a state-of-the-art camera system, with a view of the loading dock area, both entries, and the hallways.
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Math presentation
A presentation was given featuring new software and hardware for teaching math. Giving the demonstration was Kyle Knutson. With the software, math problems can be written on a computer pad, and presented on a screen--much like a "Powerpoint" presentation.
The school invested in five of the pads, at $500 each. Someday the school would like to have several dozen of the pads for use in classrooms.
