02-13-2012 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, February 13, 2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. (4. WESTONKA SCHOOLS UPDATE, Continued) This past year the Westonka School District received a clean audit and was presented with the Finance Award from the State of Minnesota. In addition, Moody's has assigned the District an AA2 rating, with only two other school districts having a stronger rating in the state. Borg stated their successful efforts at the District in large part are due to the support of the community. This past year brought forward a renewal of the levy and two bond projects. The related projects include deferred maintenance projects, such as roofs, parking, and mechanical systems, locker rooms, safety, and improvements to the entrances of the buildings and technology infrastructure. This past week the Board approved the sale of the bond, with the City receiving an extremely low interest rate at 2.1 percent. The low interest rate means that the levy will be 3.7 million dollars less than what was being communicated to the taxpayers in August, which is about a 17 percent reduction in the projected cost. The District's credit rating also assisted in obtaining that low interest rate. Borg noted the School Board has interviewed construction managers and have hired Kraus- Anderson to oversee the work. They expect the project to take three years, with construction likely commencing in 2013. Borg indicated he is here to answer any questions the City Council would have. Rahn noted on the school's website they have a facilities update tab, and asked whether they plan to have • updated information available to the residents on the various projects. Borg indicated that the project study reports will be included on the website, which will allow the taxpayers to see the items on the original project list and then the costs associated with those projects. Rahn commented that would be a good financial aid to the residents. Rahn asked whether Superintendent Bord has any insight into who the new varsity football coach will be. Borg stated they will be interviewing this spring for a new head football coach. McMillan noted the school's math scores drop off as the students get older, and asked what could be done to help keep those scores up. Borg noted Minnesota recently received a waiver in the No Child Left Behind requirements and concurred that math tends to become more difficult as they progress through the grades. The test scores in Grade 3 show that 91 percent of the students are proficient, which drops down to 70 percent in 11th grade. As it relates to Westonka, Grade 3 ranks first in the state and Grade 11 ranks eighth in the state. Borg noted the math and reading scores do drop off throughout the entire state since students are likely not placing a high priority on math as they age. The Westonka School District is offering more advanced classes this year and that he is hopeful more students will take advantage of those classes. Borg indicated he would be happy to answer any questions the Council may have throughout the year and thanked the City Council for their time this evening. McMillan noted just under 50 percent of the Orono households are located in the Westonka School • District. McMillan thanked Superintendent Borg for his progress report. Page 2 of 22