Siblings June and Sig Nicholson of Dassel play holiday songs on their violins to entertain visitors to the schoolhouse.
Melanie Eggers and her son Cade, 11, pose for a picture with Santa Claus. The Eggerses live in Belle Plaine, but Melanie’s parents are Cosmos residents. She said a visit to the Pioneer Christmas has been a family tradition.
Mallory Molitor and Hannah Traut butter lefse and sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar inside the stockade cabin.
Paul White of Litchfield waits for visitors in the candle making shop. On the counter by the window are bottles of honey, the companion product from White’s beekeeping hobby.
Dr. Rick Searl explains the typesetting process inside the newspaper office.
Christmas from a century ago came to life Saturday during the Forest City Stockade Pioneer Christmas.
The annual event drew large crowds of people who stepped back in time on a bright, seasonably warm day to enjoy crafts and food, and to observe demonstrations of activities from the 1860s Minnesota prairie.
In some cases, demonstrations mixed with food, like the lefse making demonstration in the pioneer cabin, and ice cream, fry bread and buffalo stew made on the grounds surrounding the cabin.
Throughout the day, carolers performed on the walkway above the stockade enclosure and musicians young and old performed in the chapel and the school.
And, of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance, posing for photos in a sleigh inside the barn on one side of the stockade.
Life on the prairie might have been difficult at times, but the Pioneer Christmas demonstrated that slowing down and enjoying a simpler life can be special as well.
— Brent Schacherer, editor
Litchfield School Board approved three labor contracts during its Nov. 27 meeting, but not before a lengthy, sometimes-tense discussion of the elements of each.
Board member Greg Mathews cast the dissenting vote in each of the three 5-1 contract decisions, raising objections to the number of personal days given in the teacher’s contract and to what he said was a pay disparity between the previously approved paraprofessional contract and custodial and food service contracts.
Mathews’ objections drew strong rebuke from some board members, including Michelle Falling, who questioned why Mathews didn’t raise his concerns earlier, or more persistently, before the night of the contract votes.
For his part, Mathews said, he had raised the pay disparity issue during past board meetings, telling his fellow board members to take a unified approach to each contract, rather than treating each separately. He also challenged the portrayal by some on the board that negotiations with each of the bargaining units had been amicable, saying it was easier to be seen as cooperative when one’s side got everything it wanted.
Mathews also questioned the pay structure of the teacher contract, in which he said, a teacher at the top of the schedule would earn $85,818 for 182 contracted work days. Meanwhile, he said, the district’s elementary school principal earns $102,000 for 240 days.
“Break that down,” Mathews said. “The Ripley principal is making $394 a day … those at the top of our teaching salary schedule (are) going to make $516 a day… That’s a significant difference, and our principals don’t have the opportunity to pick up extra money unless they’re moonlighting…”
He encouraged his fellow board members to remember that disparity as they approach negotiations with district administrators next year.
“I don’t want to see any pushback from the community,” Mathews said. “I hope this is going to be reported, so people know that our administrators aren’t overpaid … when you break this down … You’ve gotta put things in perspective.”
He then launched a lengthy objection to the teacher contract’s personal days allotment, saying the current board’s negotiating team seemed to take the same approach that some past boards have.
“Previous boards have found it very convenient, instead of additional salary, to give additional days,” Mathews said.
Having been a teacher in the district 40 years ago when the first personal day was added to the teacher contract, Mathews said, he remembered “a fight with the school board,” whose members were concerned teaches might use the time for “frivolous” pursuits like deer hunting or shopping. But he pushed for the addition, because he believed teachers would use it for significant personal activities, such as a family member having surgery or other medical appointments.
The new contract approved by the board last week allows for three personal days for an employee with up to three years in the district. The number grows to five personal days for those with 10 years’ service, and to seven days at 11 years or longer. Additionally, teachers can carry over two unused days into the next year, which essentially could give them nine personal days to use in one year.
Nine days of instruction is a significant amount of time, Mathews said, and could be detrimental to the education of students. The former history teacher said that amount of time would be more than he spent on units about the Civil Rights movement, Great Depression or World War II.
“And the people being cheated here are the kids,” Mathews said. “If the teachers deserve more money, pay the money, but keep them in the classroom.
“I’m sorry, but I do not like it,” he added. “And I was a teacher, and I wouldn’t have liked it if I was still teaching. That’s the reason I’m going to vote ‘no’ on this.”
While he said he understood some of Mathews’ argument, board Chairman Alex Carlson objected to Mathews’ description of teachers getting everything they wanted in the contract.
“Greg, I’m not going to debate you, because I don’t think all of our contract negotiations have been really amicable and positive,” he said. “I don’t want to cover every one of your points, because I agree with where your intention is coming from the best interests of the kids, financial solvency, what’s best for teachers. So I agree with where you’re coming from.”
But, Carlson said, he supported the contract expressly because of the personal day allotment.
“The reality is, two personal days (in the previous contract) is a broken system,” he said. The new contract’s increase in personal days “is a huge jump when we look at what it’s been historically, I agree with you.”
But the system of personal days is better than the old contract, with two personal days “and a boatload of sick days,” which could entice people to cheat, Carlson said.
Litchfield Education Association leadership “acknowledged, if we don’t manage this well, (and) make sure that our kids aren’t suffering, then this is going to be a hardball negotiation in two years. So it’s been a very direct conversation. We trusted our professionals and the teachers and our administrators make sure that we can deliver on that and that we’re not losing teachers for two weeks straight.”
Contract language prohibits the use of more than five consecutive personal days, Carlson said, helping to ensure against that two-week teaching gap. But he said it was also important that the district needs “to protect the educators we have right now and also be competitive, to attract other educators…”
Prior to the board’s vote, Superintendent Beckie Simenson said she appreciated the dialogue, but was “very frustrated” to hear claims that teachers “get almost everything they ask for” in the contract.
“Negotiations have gone from adversarial to … a more mutual, collaborative negotiation, and that’s the best way to solve them,” Simenson said. “In all of the negotiations that I have been a part of, you have to start out with the premise (of) what’s best for the kids.”
Inflation has hit snowplowing for the 2023-2024 season.
After discussion about higher quotes for hiring an operator and tractor or skid steer loader to clear snow on school properties, the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City School Board last week accepted equipment use contracts for about $15 an hour more than last year. It was noted that, due to heavy snowfall and ice during last winter, the district paid more than double the normal rate for snow removal.
When possible, school custodial staff salt sidewalks, shovel entrances, and use the district’s leased skid steer for smaller snowfalls, Building and Grounds Director Tom Fordyce told the board. However, when it comes to moving many inches of snow from parking lots, especially the big lots at the high school/middle school complex in Grove City, it is essential to bring in more manpower and larger equipment.
Fordyce and Superintendent Kip Lynk said it has been challenging to find firms willing to do the work. Only three contractors responded to this year’s call for quotes. Litzau Farm Drainage was contracted to assist with the Grove City site, while Whitcomb Construction LLC will handle the smaller areas on the Atwater and Cosmos campuses.
Fordyce told the board that he would request itemized invoices from Litzau on those occasions when heavy equipment is needed.
“This campus is a beast because of the parking lots,” he told the board.
Telephone topic
The board had better luck when it came to future telephone service. The district will save about $42,000 over what it currently pays for landlines by entering a three-year contract with Granite Government Solutions for basic phone service. Trunk landlines are required in public schools for emergency service, internet access, network monitoring and related services.
Lynk told the board the district’s current equipment is compatible with Granite’s system, while the previous phone service provider would have required a costly copper wire upgrade. It was also noted that several bidders submitted significantly higher bids for comparable service. Granite’s bid was $226.72 per month with a three-year contract. There would be additional charges for long-distance service.
Personnel action
In personnel matters, board Chairwoman Megan Morrison said the negotiations committee is making progress on a multi-year teachers’ contract, and that contracts for the superintendent and principals were expected to be worked on during the coming week.
The board accepted resignations from paraprofessionals Laura Nagel and Baily Kalkbrenner, and hired paraprofessional Jody Huisman.
The board also approved several coaching changes and updated contracts, mostly for upcoming spring sports. Lynk noted that, to date, all but two of the district’s current substitute teachers have signed on with the new temp agency handling the district’s substitute service. He added that his office is still working on filling clerical and custodial vacancies.
Activities update
New Activity/Athletic Director Matt Zupke discussed sports and activities with the board.
Participation in most winter sports appears to have significantly increased, he said. Participation and interest in the fall musical and winter one-act plays was also high. A running club has started within the district, leading Zupke to wonder if a fall cross country team might be a future boys and girls sport to add.
The board and Lynk, who had previously worked in districts with cooperative team ventures, also discussed the idea of “pairing” with nearby districts on other sports. Board members suggested surveying students about their interest in various sports and activities.
Student survey
High school Principal Robin Wall reported on a recent survey of interest in various high school electives. There appears to be the greatest interest in business and accounting classes, followed by agriculture, arts and communications, and engineering. There was only a small amount of interest in other electives.
Space available
The board also discussed space availability at the elementary school in Atwater, as preschool numbers are strong and apt to bring more children into the district. Elementary Principal Kodi Goracke noted that there are two spaces available in her building that could be used as small classrooms.
The board discussed if “caps” could be placed on class sizes in the future, and if the district might need to consider placing restrictions on future “open enrollment” from residents of neighboring districts. Board members noted that ACGC has never capped open enrollment, but Lynk has worked in the past for districts that have and explained how it was done in those locations.
Audit report
Among other business, the board accepted the 2022-2023 audit report and adopted several changes in policies related to curriculum, credit for learning and transportation of nonpublic school students.
The practice of banning books has been around for centuries, driven by a range of reasons such as divergent political perspectives, religious concerns, and cultural expressions. Rachel Trettin wonders the halls of the Hutchinson Library hoping to pick up a book that peaks her interest.
In the quiet halls of local public libraries, the shelves stand tall, housing a diverse array of thoughts and ideas. But libraries nationwide have faced a wave of challenges to books on their shelves.
New reports released by the American Library Association and PEN America, a free speech organization, found a significant uptick in efforts to remove books from public and school libraries.
“Book banning goes in and out of style over the span of history,” Beth Cronk, head librarian at Litchfield Public Library, said.
The ALA report found that almost half of the book challenges between January and August this year occurred in public libraries, marking a 16% increase over the same time last year. The ALA documented nearly 700 attempts to censor library materials, impacting more than 1,900 individual titles — surpassing the figures from the same period in 2022, a year that witnessed the highest number of challenged titles since the organization started tracking such efforts more than 20 years ago.
Minnesota libraries received 12 attempts to restrict access to books in 2022, with 34 individual titles challenged.
Of the reported book challenges, 51% targeted books and materials in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula; 48% of book challenges targeted materials in public libraries.
The conversation surrounding book bans often centers on exaggerated and misleading claims, such as porn in schools and sexually explicit, harmful and age inappropriate materials, according to PEN America.
This has led to the removal of thousands of books across various topics and themes for young audiences. The majority of book bans target materials on race or racism, featuring characters of color, and those with LGBTQ+ characters. This year, banned books also include topics on physical abuse, health, well-being, grief and death, predominantly affecting young adult, middle-grade, chapter and picture books, the report said.
“One of the key rules of library science is ‘every book its reader,’” Katy Hiltner, head librarian at Hutchinson Public Library said.
While a book may not appeal to every reader, the diversity of the library’s collection ensures there is something for everyone. Pioneerland Library System’s Collection Development Policy underscores this principle, aiming to meet the diverse informational and recreational needs of its users while supporting access to various perspectives, she said.
“The library system supports the individual’s right to have access to ideas and information presenting all points of view,” Hiltner said.
“The library offers a wide range of options so that people can select books that suit their own needs, interests and values,” added Cronk.
The effort to limit access to books likely extends beyond the figures presented. PEN’s statistics are gathered from public reports, school district data, and local organizations monitoring book bans. However, it is probable that numerous removals are occurring without being officially reported, it noted in its report.
The PEN report, which focused on book removals in school and classroom libraries throughout the 2022-2023 school year, identified 3,362 instances of books being taken off shelves — a 33% surge compared to the previous academic year. This encompassed the targeting of more than 1,550 individual titles.
Before 2020, the primary source of challenges to library books and resources was typically a single parent aiming to eliminate or limit access to a book their child was reading. However, in 2022, 90% of reported book challenges were requests to censor multiple titles. Of the challenges, 40% were cases involving 100 books or more, according to the ALA.
“The freedom to read is essential to democracy,” Cronk said. “The written word is valuable. America has a tradition of free expression, and a constitutional right to it. Americans value the freedom of the press and freedom of speech.”
