Superintendent Notes
By Randy Bruer
Taxes and School Levy
Our school levy for the 2020 Pay 2021 school year will decrease by -5.7%. This decrease is due to an increase of state aid towards Referendum Market Values and fewer sales ratios. People who own Ag property or farmland will see another decrease due to the new Ag credit legislation in 2019. Ag credit will be used for Agriculture and timberland owners in 296 school districts to reduce bond debt taxes. This is a new property tax law only applied to Ag acres and timberland so the tax burden of school buildings is not a heavy burden on farmers. See the table below. Our district has continued a lease levy from previous years which will be used to construct a Pre-K room, Special Education classroom, or an extra classroom in the near future without an additional impact on property taxes. This has been a continued discussion with school board members.
Taxes Payable Year    Total Ag2school credit
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 55%
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 60%
2023Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 70%
Century 21 Grant
Our school is 1 of 4 School Districts who has reapplied for the Grant to extend this program for 3 additional years. We are excited about this opportunity because we know how much students enjoy the program. Win-E-Mac, Waubun, Stephen-Argyle, and Fosston were the recipients of this grant. Our school includes grades K-12 with an emphasis on 5-12. We will have homework help time, intro to robotics, Lego competition, nutrition, fitness, stem, and arts along with field trips and community work projects. We are seeking help after school if you would like to work some hours with students. Please call the school and speak with the Superintendent.
School Construction Class
The Construction class is building a portable fish house this year instead of a house. If you are interested in a house built by the school in the 2021/2022 school year, please call the Superintendent. If you have a plan for the next build, please give Nathan or the Superintendent a call.
Minnesota State High School League approves limited winter prep sports seasons
The Minnesota State High School League voted last Thursday to go ahead with winter sports seasons, with a 30 percent reduction in games and matches.
The schedule includes a 17-week season for basketball and a 15-week season for hockey, the state’s two highest-profile winter sports. Dance, gymnastics, wrestling, nordic and alpine skiing, and adaptive floor hockey will also go forward.
That follows the board’s previous delay of some fall sports to next spring due to COVID-19, and the decision last month to restore football and volleyball after pressure from parents and players to restart the programs.
Like limits to the fall activities, the winter plan has limited competition between schools. It allows only two- or three-team contests, with no tournaments or invitationals. The seasons are being moved slightly to accommodate fall sports: dance is scheduled to start November 9, the rest of the sports in late November and early December.
The decision doesn’t guarantee kids will take to the court, the ice, the mat, the pool, or the ski hill. Participation still depends on individual districts and the status of their school options due to COVID-19. Schools with distance-only learning aren’t eligible for high school sports — although some schools are eligible for in-person learning and sports, even if they opted for virtual classes.
Tickets for home football games will be divided up as listed with Maximum participation of 250:
- Players, Coaches, Game Personnel will be allowed,
- Roughly (140) student tickets for immediate family and grandparents
- (80) tickets will be given to the opposing team to claim by the Tuesday of game week
- The number of tickets unclaimed by the end of the school day on Wednesday will be posted on the school’s website on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, starting at 8:00 AM the public will have the ability to claim any available tickets by emailing tickets@wemschools.org.
- There will be NO purchasing of tickets on game day. All tickets have to be claimed prior. If you do not have claimed tickets, you will not be admitted into the game.
- Ticket Prices: Adults ($6.00), Student ($4.00), Senior Citizen ($4.00), WEM Staff ($4.00), and WEM Students ($2.00).
Parents, too, will ultimately decide whether their children participate in the extra-curricular
activities.
Win-E-Mac home Football and Volleyball games will be broadcasted over GVTV or streamed on
line if you have an account through GV Telephone.
*** Keep in mind that the “Behavior of the Community will decide on the Model of Learning used in the
School “. This is very important for the educational opportunities for our Students.