Alberton school board discuss school programs

ALBERTON – During the monthly meeting of the Alberton School Board of Trustees, the board discussed concerns with the cost of the school’s lunch program, kindergarten class and whether to renew administrator contracts.

The school’s lunch program has suffered some difficulties. Compared to this time last year, the program has seen a decrease of approximately $6,000.

It was noted schools in other districts have also run into problems with the lunch program’s budget. While it was not known if their problems were the same as Alberton’s, it was suggested they look into what the other school boards have done to fix their programs.

Jessie Nichols, a member of the board of trustees, said the school year could not end with the lunch program in the hole. The board will likely use money from the general fund to bail out the program and bring it back into the positive.

Clay Acker, superintendent of the Alberton schools, said the lunch program was something the school board was very reluctant to cut into to save money. However, he noted it might be something to discuss more at a later meeting.

“There are a lot of things that could be possibly looked at to cut back, just to save money,” Acker said.

It was noted breakfasts were included in the lunch program’s budget. Acker said this could be a source of cut backs as the meals could be made a little less elaborate. While he said it would take away from the quality of the meal, offering only one option for a balanced breakfast would save lots of money.

The board was not sure if the cause of the problem was the food costs, the amounts being ordered or something else. Nichols said she suggested looking at other vendors to see what some of their prices were and if a better deal could be made.

This idea led into a discussion about the school possibly switching to a ‘farm to school’ model. Kavita Bay presented the idea to her fellow board members as a way to save money without necessarily sacrificing quality and helping local businesses at the same time.

‘Farm to school’ is a program where the school buys directly from local growers and ranchers. Meat gets processed and delivered fresh to the school without being frozen. Similarly, there is not as much wait time from when fruits and vegetables are harvested to when they are delivered to the school.

Bay said ‘farm to school’ would not take extra money to implement, though it would take more time and energy. She said the school’s lunch program was working toward a goal to only serve beef from Montana by next year and start to transition other produce to local sources.

“There are several school districts that are doing this,” Bay said. “We’re trying to look into what the costs are, if they’re comparable or if they could possibly be cheaper.”

She added there was anecdotal evidence to suggest this change would be healthier for the kids because it was not full of fillers and was not as fatty. The lack of extra fat would also mean the school would get more servings per pound.

Bay also discussed the school partnering with Montana FoodCorp. She said the organization has worked with other districts on going to a ‘farm to school’ program. They have also helped improve school gardens and education about where food comes from. Bay said the person from FoodCorp works at the school as a member of the staff and helps with education in the classroom.

Bay showed a video to outline some of the other benefits of working with Montana FoodCorp. The video discussed the group partnering with farms, ranches and processing companies to improve a school’s food programs. The partnership also opens the company’s doors to the school for field trips where the kids learn more about where their food comes from.

Bay planned to look more into partnering with Montana FoodCorp in the future. While there is nobody available to work with the Alberton schools at the moment, this could change in another school year.

Expanding the role of the school garden was another topic Bay raised. She said the school’s gardens were tied into the lunch program and improving the garden would only help the program.

Bay explained there needed to be someone who would work with the teachers to help get everything ready and organized for the lessons, possibly as a part-time position. The board did not think there was enough money in the budget to pay someone for the position. Bay suggested looking into possible grants to pay for the position and hoped to brainstorm other options.

“I’d like for everyone to think about it and see what other ideas we can come up with,” Bay said. “We just have to find a more creative way.”

Another option discussed was for all the schools in the county to pull together to get a machine to make hamburger patties. They could then purchase cows from the ranchers and do a portion of the work themselves, cutting down the cost of ordering from a supplier.

Nichols said there were grants to help with these sorts of projects and recommended the board look into possibly getting one to help obtain the patty machine and livestock.

In closing, Bay said she would rather find another way to save money on the lunch program rather than cutting back on the quality or quantity of the meals offered. She felt the ‘farm to school’ program was strongly tied to the solution.

“I think that it’s there,” Bay said. “Montana is really working hard for this program. It’s a national program, but a lot has happened in Montana, we’re the leaders in implementing a lot of this stuff.”

During the public comment period of the meeting, Laura Acker voiced concerns she had about the school’s kindergarten classes. Because she has a child about to enter kindergarten, she decided to sit in on a class and get a feel for the environment.

She said it reassured her to see how well Kristi Ray, the kindergarten teacher, did her job. However, she had concerns about the curriculum and felt it was boring. According to Laura, the kids spend so much time on reading and other core subjects, they do not have time for any breaks except for regular recess and lunch periods.

“That’s why I say [Ray] is doing such a good job, because she is doing three jobs in one,” Laura said. “This group is working on a worksheet and then she has another student that she teaches and she’s bouncing from one to here to here. Really you can’t make a room exciting and fun when you have your time so spread.”

Laura was not sure what kind of options there were for using a different curriculum for the class. She felt there had to be something the board could do to make things easier for Ray so parents did not feel obligated to volunteer and help out in the class.

She admitted the curriculum was effective and the students were learning to read and write. But by the end of the day, many of the kids have lost interest in learning and check out.

Nichols said Laura was not the first person to voice concerns about the kindergarten curriculum. She said many of the kids did not enjoy it and when they were told to get out their books, there was a chorus of groans.

The kindergarten curriculum is based on the Common Core standards. Bay noted the problem with this is how rigid the program has become. She said the teacher is given a very repetitive script for how to teach and are not supposed to stray from it. Bay also said the program required 90-minute segments of reading and math without any breaks.

“That is a huge chunk of time in these kids’ days,” Bay said. “After they go to lunch, have their recesses, have all their extras, there is not a whole lot of time for anything else, besides these two 90-minute periods.”

The board was not able to make any decisions about the subject during the meeting. They did appreciate Laura bringing the concerns to their attention and it is something they will look into more.

“Part of the problem is, we have an eight-hour school day, four days a week, expecting five and six year olds to be OK with that,” Clay said. “It may not be possible.”

The meeting ended with the renewal of administrative contracts. In a closed meeting, the board discussed the principal and superintendent evaluations and proposed contracts. The board voted to renew Clay Acker’s contract as superintendent of the Alberton schools at $15,000 per year with couple’s health insurance and Kyle Fisher’s contract as principal and athletic director at $64,000 per year plus single insurance coverage.

The school board’s next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 8, at 7 p.m.