Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Northfield High School

7:45 am

Members Present: Katie Bull, Marie Colangelo, Nate Dahlen, Peter Duba, Theo Hofrenning, Ivy Johnson, Brandon Miller, Sofie Scheuerman, Rachel Stark, George Zuccolotto

Members Not Present: Rey Andrade, Sid Beaumaster, Chelsea Moses, Ingrid Pfefferle, Cyrette Saunier

Others Present: Soraya Dangor

1. 100 Best Communities for Youth: we are applying again this year, and the application is due on April 11
   1. We need youth testimonials: Marie will contact the middle school for kids, George and Sofie will contact Arlo C., Nate will contact Kyle S., and Katie will contact Kelsey B.
   2. Brandon will do section 1.1, Marie section 1.2, Cyrette section 1.3, Ingrid section 1.2, Ivy section 2.2, Katie section 2.3, Sofie section 2.4, Nate section 2.5, and Theo/Peter all of section 3
   3. The MYC applications for next year are due April 12
      1. Advertise after spring break
      2. Current MYC juniors need to reapply
      3. County Meeting: there is a county meeting at 8:30 am in Faribault in the government services building
         1. Discuss raising taxes- county hasn’t raised taxes, so workers have been let go, people on food support have been taken off, etc.
         2. MYC members may attend, but as individuals, not MYC members
         3. Sofie’s Training with Nick and Anna
            1. ALC kids are working on changing standardized testing
            2. If we have a project, contact Nick and Anna for fundraising
            3. Next meeting April 4 (have 100 Best sections done)

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Northfield High School

7:45 am

Members Present: Rey Andrade, Sid Beaumaster, Katie Bull, Marie Colangelo, Nate Dahlen, Peter Duba, Ivy Johnson, Brandon Miller, Ingrid Pfefferle, Cyrette Saunier, Sofie Scheuerman, Rachel Stark, George Zuccolotto

Members Not Present: Chelsea Moses

Others Present: Soraya Dangor, Anna Fure-Slocum, Zach Pruitt, Marnie Thompson, Nick Welna

1. Nick and Anna have scheduled a leadership training day for high school youth in Northfield- the event will take place in February. Those who attend will receive leadership training and will then create a project, which Nick and Anna will fund with their grant.
2. The MYC completed the youth surveys the HCI included with their grant for our clothing drive.
3. The MYC determined the recipients of our grant from America’s Promise Alliance. The MYC has decided to award $500 to middle school TORCH students’ field trip to a college, $600 to high school ESL students’ program on a college campus in the summer, $300 to the TORCH’s 8^th grade transition to high school program, $200 to the Key, and $400 to the ALC’s Boundary Waters trip.

Future meeting: Wednesday, February 22 at 7:45 am.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Northfield High School

7:45 am

Members Present: Rey Andrade, Katie Bull, Marie Colangelo, Nate Dahlen, Peter Duba, Theo Hofrenning, Ivy Johnson, Brandon Miller, Ingrid Pfefferle, Cyrette Saunier, Sofie Scheuerman

Members Not Present: Sidney Beaumaster, Chelsea Moses, Rachel Stark, George Zuccolotto

Others Present: Soraya Dangor, Zach Pruitt, Marnie Thompson

1. Tattered Pages volunteering was a success. The next volunteering opportunity the MYC will attend is the community service night on January 26. The MYC will be represented by Brandon, Katie, Sofie, Ivy, Marie, and Ingrid.
2. Grant applications have been sent. We’ll hold a special meeting on February 4 to decide the recipients of the grant.
3. Candidate Forum: possibility for next year’s group in the fall.
   1. Event for both kids and adults- an opportunity to ask candidates questions about issues important and pertaining to youth
   2. After the forum, tables will be set up for personal questions with the candidates
   3. Engage the social studies classes at the high school somehow
   4. Discuss idea with Nick and Anna
   5. Possibly host event with the Key (Theo will explore this)
   6. Nate will talk to League of Women Voters for support
4. Resolutions:
   1. Make sure we meet deadlines on time
   2. Increase meeting turnout: members must let an advisor know if they are going to be absent

5.  MYC 2012-13

• Open up 2 spots for members of the class of 2013 (rest of spots: class of 2014)
• MYC members of the class of 2012 will stay on the council and attend meetings this summer, if possible
• Open applications earlier and move the traditional deadline for applications up

6.   Boosting Culture Night:

• Sofie will talk to Joy Klutz (from Carleton) and the language teachers

7.  Next meeting: Wednesday, February 1 at 7:45.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Northfield High School

7:45 am

Members Present: Rey Andrade, Sid Beaumaster, Katie Bull, Marie Colangelo, Nate Dahlen, Peter Duba, Theo Hofrenning, Ivy Johnson, Brandon Miller, Ingrid Pfefferle, Rachel Stark

Members Not Present: Chelsea Moses, Sofie Scheuerman, George Zuccolotto

Others Present: Soraya Dangor, Zach Pruitt, Kris Vohs

1. Clothing Drive
   1. NHS and NMS filled approximately 25 large boxes of clothes, and we will announce the NHS raffle winners today. Those winners are Sasha Middeldorp, Charlie Black, Kaia Bierman, and Ruth Cullen
   2. At the next meeting, we and the four winners will fill out the HCI surveys about the drive
   3. Peter will look up CAC programs the winners can donate to
   4. The MYC would like to continue this clothing drive in future years
2. Tattered Pages
   1. There are shifts to work at the NMS Tattered Pages on Thursday, December 15 from 4-5:30 and Friday, December 16 through Thursday, December 22 from 11-12 and 2-3. Two people per shift- sign up on Facebook
3. Grant Application
   1. The application is for $2000
   2. Katie will email potential candidates
   3. We will put the application on the website
   4. The decision for the recipient of the grant will be made by early February
4. “Asking Candidates about Youth Issues”
   1. This would push local politicians to spend more time discussing youth issues- the MYC will talk to Nick Welna and Anna Fure-Slocum at the next meeting to brainstorm ideas about how to do this (possibly hold an event)
5. This is Kris’s last MYC meeting, so the MYC thanked Kris for his contribution to the council with a gift.
6. Our next meeting will be on January 4, 2012 at 7:45.
   1. Agenda items: the website

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Northfield High School

7:45 am

Members Present: Katie Bull, Marie Colangelo, Nate Dahlen, Peter Duba, Theo Hofrenning, Ivy Johnson, Brandon Miller, Ingrid Pfefferle, Sofie Scheuerman

Members Not Present: Rey Andrade, Sid Beaumaster, Chelsea Moses, Cyrette Saunier, Rachel Stark, George Zuccolotto

Others Present: Soraya Dangor, Zach Pruitt, Marnie Thompson, Kris Vohs

1. Clothing Drive:
   1. Everyone will hang up posters for the drive after today’s meeting
   2. The drive at the high school will take place December 5-9 and the drive at the middle school will take place December 13-14
   3. Peter talked to the Northfield News about the drive, Theo will talk to Mr. Leer about an announcement, and Marie will talk to Mr. Gelineau
   4. We will have a box at the table so those who donate can write down their names to be drawn in the raffle after the drive
   5. Marnie got 10 boxes and one will go in the office- we will inspect the clothing as it gets donated to see if it is suitable for the Clothes Closet
   6. Ingrid will make the clothesline, Soraya will put the work schedule online, and Nate will make a Facebook event
2. Grant: the group decided to discuss the 100 Best Communities grant at the next meeting.
3. Boards/Commissions: Soraya will email the boards and commissions asking them to tell us in advance if they would like an MYC representative at their meeting; otherwise, a MYC representative will not need to attend other board/commission meetings.
4. Next meeting: December 14 at 7:45

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Northfield High School

7:45 am

Members Present: Rey Andrade, Katie Bull, Marie Colangelo, Nate Dahlen, Peter Duba, Theo Hofrenning, Ivy Johnson, Brandon Miller, Ingrid Pfefferle, Rachel Stark, and George Zuccolotto

Members Not Present: Sid Beaumaster, Chelsea Moses, Cyrette Saunier, and Sofie Scheuerman

Others Present: Soraya Dangor, Anna Fure-Slocum, Marnie Thompson, Kris Vohs, and Nick Welna

1. Boards/Commissions: no one attended a meeting, so the way we attend board and commission meetings has been changed. Whoever is able to will attend meetings for Arts and Culture, Parks and Recreation, Grace Whittier Fund, Library, and the Mayor’s Task Force on Drugs with Soraya, and this will be planned ahead of time.
2. Levy Update: about a third of the school voted in the Kids Vote and both levies passed. There is an article in the November 2, 2011 Northfield News regarding this vote. The real election on the levies is on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.
   1. Successes: personal aspect of actually going to classes, made students much more informed, brought the discussion to the attention of the students, etc.
   2. Next time we would: have more time to create a lengthier campaign and make sure to remain unbiased.
3. Clothing Drive:
   1. Marie emailed Pesta, we can put posters up at the middle school regarding the drive- Marie will email Gelineau with the dates and will make Facebook events
   2. Sofie is making the posters, with the help of Soraya- they will cost about $10 and will include both MYC and HCI logos
   3. Ingrid will make the clothesline that will hang between the cafeterias at the high school (council members should give clothes to Ingrid)
   4. Marnie will ask custodians to save boxes
   5. We will give extra clothing the Clothes Closet can’t use to Red Box Clothing
   6. We will have  a drop-off box for clothing in the office and have the ticket booth open collecting clothes before school and during lunch (*make sure students put their name on the clothing)
4. 100 Best Communities: we need to distribute $2500 by the end of March
   1. We will donate to TORCH
   2. We will give out $500 grants (*we need to advertise this)
   3. Soraya will post a list of programs that may be interested in applying for these grants
   4. The mini-committee for the grants is made up of Katie, Marie, Nate, Theo, Ivy, Brandon, and Ingrid.
5. Pressing Matters: Kris resigned from the city council, so the city will elect a new member. That means Kris will not attend our MYC meetings beginning in 2012 and we won’t have a verbal update to the city council every month anymore, until we get a new liaison.
6. Next Meeting: November 30, 2011 at 7:45 am
   1. Let Soraya know if there’s something you want on the next meeting’s agenda.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Northfield High School

7:45 am

Members Present: Sid Beaumaster, Katie Bull, Marie Colangelo, Nate Dahlen, Theo Hofrenning, Ivy Johnson, Ingrid Pfefferle, and Rachel Stark

Members Not Present: Rey Andrade, Peter Duba, Brandon Miller, Chelsea Moses, Cyrette Saunier, Sofie Scheuerman, and George Zuccolotto

Others Present: Soraya Dangor, Anna Fure-Slocum, Zach Pruitt, Nick Welna

1. Boards/Commissions: no one attended a meeting.
2. Mini-Grant Update: We received $300 from HCI for our clothes drive.
3. Clothing Drive Update: We decided to push the clothing drive back due to the levy activity the council recently decided to take on.
   1. Advertising will begin on Monday, November 21.
   2. The drive itself will take place from Monday, November 28 to Friday, December 2.
   3. Marie will email Mr. Pesta regarding getting the middle school involved in the drive.
4. Levy Activity Update: Theo emailed Mr. Leer regarding presenting to English classes, and we will be allowed to do so on Thursday, October 27, but we have to contact the English teachers first
   1. Wear t-shirts for presentations.
   2. The talking points for the presentations will be on Facebook.
   3. The presentations should only take about five minutes.
   4. Remind seniors (18 years) to vote- they can register on site, the secretary of state website provides polling place information.
   5. Brandon will design posters and email them to Anna and Nick- Anna and Nick will get prizes (candy, stickers, etc.) and will print posters
   6. Theo will make an announcement on Friday, October 28 regarding voting at lunch.
   7. Zach will make voting question sheets and ballots.
   8. Ingrid and Cyrette will work at the voting table for A and B lunch, all others who can will work C lunch.
   9. Brandon emailed the Northfield News regarding our results, but has received no response yet, so will try emailing Suzy Rook.
5. 100 Best Communities: we received $2500 and will discuss where it will go at the next meeting.
6. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 2 at 7:45 am.

Operating Levy                          Capital Projects Levy 

Yes                         No                 Yes                               No

310                          48                  315                              43

The students were well-informed on the levy because the day prior, MYC students went into each English class every hour and presented information on the levy. MYC members remained neutral and didn’t tell students to vote either way. The vote was held in the utmost sincerity. The ballot box remained locked at all times and MYC members manning the table told no voter which way to vote. The ballots used were copies of the official ballot that will be used on November 8. The aim of our student poll was to raise awareness amongst the student body and to encourage students to discuss the matter with their parents. We encourage all who are eligible to vote on the levy referendum on November 8.

Re: School Board Levy

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Northfield High School

7:45-8:40 am

Members Present: Katie Bull, Marie Colangelo Nate Dahlen, Peter Duba, Theo Hofrenning, Ivy Johnson, Brandon Miller, Ingrid Pfefferle, and Rachel Stark

Members Not Present: Rey Andrade, Sid Beaumaster, Nathan Dahlen, Chelsea Moses, Cyrette Saunier, Sofie Scheuerman, and George Zuccolotto

Others Present: Soraya Dangor, Anna Fure-Slocum, Joel Leer, Chris Richardson, and Kris Vohs

I. Background Information: In the past, the Northfield School District has provided very high quality programs, reflected in our 99% graduation rate and our 88% post-secondary education rate, and has maintained its physical facilities well. The greatest struggle of our district has been the lack of funding from our state government. The budget cuts began in the 2004-05 school year, and were cut again in 2005-06. In 2005-06, the city of Northfield voted in favor of a seven-year levy of $1270 per pupil that would allow for no further cuts if our district was provided with an increased fund of 2%/year from the state. This amount was not provided (in the past six years, three of those have seen no increase), and cuts were again made in 2010-11, which brought the total amount of cuts to $4 million, or 17% of the original funding since 2004-05. Since the early 2000s, the state has had a $5 billion budget deficit, and in the government’s special session, rather than settle this budget, it chose to borrow more money from the government-owned tobacco fields and delay school funding by holding back 40% of our funding one year , causing our cash balance to decrease. Our balance will stay at this deficit until the state pays us back. Our state has its highest budget deficit ever right now, but the previous highest budget deficit took fifteen years to pay the schools back, thus the school board felt it needed to turn this issue over to the community for help. It is more like to have a deeper shift of 70%-30% or something similar. The most obvious impacts of these cuts have been increases in class sizes and lost programming (ex: summer school, classes offered, etc.). Meanwhile, mandated programs (such as ESL and special education) have expanded, and while the state has given us a 35% increase for these programs (and we will be receiving more this year and next), the cost of the programs has increased by 72%, meaning the district will likely have to borrow money.

II. Operating Levy: The operating levy would increase the levy voted upon in 2005-06 from $1270 per pupil to $1604 per pupil and would extend ten years, rather than the previous seven. The inflationary increase would be set by the state, ensuring the money we receive will have the same buying power in the future. Per year, taxpayers would pay $73 more per $100000 of their taxable market value (house value). If the operating levy does not pass, $900,000 will be cut in 2013-14 and $6.7 million will be cut in 2014-15 because we will be unable to renew our current levy. Our previous highest cut was $2.7 million, which resulted in cutting 30 staff members and increased class sizes. With the cut expected in 2014-15 if the levy does not pass, ¼ of staff members will be cut, along with elective and comprehensive classes and transportation services, and extracurricular activities fees will increase dramatically. If the levy does not pass, 300 of the 339 independent school districts in Minnesota will have more funding than Northfield (currently, 141 districts get more revenue)- if the levy does pass, 95 districts will have more, including districts we most often get compared to based on our performances (Edina, St. Louis Park, etc., which have levies up to $1866).

III. Capital Projects Levy: The capital projects levy is for maintenance of physical facilities of the district’s 153 acres of land and six buildings, including technology. It would not increase taxes, but would renew the current $750,000 budget per year for the next ten years. The capital projects levy cannot pass without the passing of the operating levy.

IV. Common Reasons Provided for Opposing the Levies:

a. Higher taxes, which is true.

b. Schools are getting more money now than they have in the past, which is true, but:

i.      Our unrestricted funds per pupil have gone up 1.5% per year, but this hasn’t matched inflation- taking this into account, our funding has decreased.

ii.      Other new funding has been restricted to mandated programs such as ESL and special education, but the cost of these programs has gone up twice as much as the funding provided.

c. Fear of the money being used for salary increases, which is not true:

i.      This has never happened before with previous levies.

ii.      Settlement of union contracts are negotiated before the levy is put into place. *UPDATE (10/26/2011): The teachers’ union negotiation has already been settled, and the teachers’ salaries will not increase regardless of whether or not the levy passes.

V. MYC’s Actions: The MYC will officially remain neutral and will focus only on providing facts to students. Possible ways to do this:

a. Video

b. PA announcements

c. Posters

d. Student-led forum with Dr. Richardson and Mr. Leer

e. Present to English classes

After information has been provided, we will hold a Kids Vote regarding the levies.

Note: For more information, please visit http://nfld.k12.mn.us/about/2011-levy-election/.

Tonight, four of the Northfield Mayor’s Youth Council members were able to share this recent success with the Northfield City Council members. The students at the meeting were Katie Bull, Peter Duba, Theo Hofrenning, and Brandon Miller. Our two co-chairs presented the Mayor, along with the rest of the council, with the 2011 Winning Community plaque. Thank you to the Northfield community, “it was because of you.”