PLAINVIEW Minn. – The Plainview school Board has received unfriendly reviews as major issues keep cropping up. The Board has been accused by the teachers union of intransigent in contract negotiations.
An expectation of volunteer services
Teachers have begun refusing to double up and cover classes when fellow teachers call in sick or are on leave. The teachers gave vowed there will be further escalations weekly. About the volunteer services, a retired teacher, Laurie Yankonsky, told a KTTC interviewer that the union’s first step, with teachers refusing to substitute for one another may break the contract impasse. About substituting, Yankonsky said: “It’s not fairly compensated, and teachers are expected to do it frequently, When something goes from a nice thing to do to an expectation, it is then part of your job. Teachers feel they should be compensated for that — and they should be.”
Illegally closed meeting
The seven-member School Board also has been under criticism for a closed-door meeting about possible criminality in hazing at the high school. The Board failed to follow state open meeting laws for going into a closed session and then failed to report afterward what had been accomplished in secret.
Parent: Board has created a “bad culture”
A Plainview mother, Annie Jurrens, told KTTC that the issues teachers face also have an effect on students. Jurrens said her son could not get speech services because there was no one to replace the speech teacher who was on leave. “They can’t find a teacher because they haven’t been creating a culture and that teachers want to come here,” Jurrens said. “If they’re not getting paid well, if there’s not other benefits, like, why would they come here?”
Board accused of vendetta
On another issue, some Board members have been accused of a personal vendetta against softball coach Ben Peters. The teachers union says that the Board has created a shadowy committee on coaching and tyatbthe ckmmittee doesn’t meet publicly.
Flagship school. The P-E-M High School in Plainview has 450 students in Grades 9 to 12.
P-E-M district proflie
The district is a consolidation of earlier independent school districts in Elgin, population 1,100; Millville, 180; and Plainview, 3,500. Four members of the School Board have Elgin addresses. Three have Millville addresses. None are from Plainview. School board members jn Minnesota are elected to four-year terms.
According to state test scores, 59% of P-E-M students are at minmally proficient or better for their grade level in math and 58% in reading.
Adjoining school districts are Dover-Eyota, Lake City, Lewiston-Altura, Rochester, St. Charles, Wabasha-Kellogg and Zumbrota-Mazeppa.