Menahga School asks state to reevaluate masking rules
Menahga Superintendent Kevin Wellen shared his ongoing lobbying efforts against some of the Minnesota Department of Education’s COVID-19 regulations. 11:14 am, Jan. 29, 2021 ×
Menahga Superintendent Kevin Wellen shared his ongoing lobbying efforts against some of the Minnesota Department of Education’s COVID-19 regulations, which he said are more suited to Metro schools than small, rural ones. He spoke at the Jan. 19 school board meeting.
His efforts, along with other superintendents, “were successful in getting the requirement for employees to wear both a mask and a shield set aside,” Wellen wrote in his board report.
Superintendent Kevin Wellen warned the school board that further enrollment decreases could dig into district reserves. 9:00 am, Dec. 30, 2020 ×
The Menahga School Board set its final levy at the maximum allowed – $1,488,832 – at their Dec. 21 meeting.
This is a 3.46 percent, or $49,730, increase from last year’s levy of $1,439,102.
The payable 2021 levy includes $403,346 for the general fund, $40,504 for community service, and $1,044,982 for general debt service.
Regarding the current budget, Superintendent Kevin Wellen said, “This is a unique year, due to COVID, and some of the factors that happened.”
The budget originally proposed $12,015,498 in general fund revenue for 2020-21.
“Now with 216, at last count, students homeschooling, our revenue in that general area dropped to $10,537,563. We did get $491,741 in COVID-19 grants, and our food service revenue dropped somewhat, too,” he said. Food services expenses rose, however, due to the need for a