The Minnesota School Boards Association set Feb. 17-21 as "School Board Recognition Week" in Minnesota as a time to build awareness and understanding of the vital function an elected board of education plays in our society.
Wadena-Deer Creek is joining all public school districts across the state to celebrate School Board Recognition Week to honor local board members for their commitment to the Wadena, Deer Creek, and Bluffton communities and their children.
"It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level," WDC Superintendent. Lee Westrum said. "They make tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide our students with the high quality education our citizens expect."
Westrum said the key work of school boards is to set policy and provide overall direction for the school district by:
• Creating a vision and mission for the school district;
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• Setting goals for the district including what students will be expected to learn and do;
• Measuring progress toward the district's goals;
• Creating and carrying out a long-range plan for the district;
• Setting the annual budget and ensuring the financial stability of the district
"Serving on a school board is a huge commitment and even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in February, their contribution is year-round," Westrum added.
The members serving our district and their years of service are as follows: Peter Hayes, six years; John Moenkedick, eight years; Ann Pate, 12 years; Wayne Perkins, eight years; Kent Schmidt, two years; and Steve Techam, six years.
School board members will be recognized with certificates at their next regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
