local education

Instead of using her money for a retirement party, a longstanding Eden Valley-Watkins Elementary teacher left a lasting gift for future students. Mary Huberty taught in the Eden Valley-Watkins area for the past 28 years. She retired this spring and wanted to leave a positive gift for future students.

A Sauk Rapids-Rice teacher is retiring this spring after working in the district since 1971. Colleen Christenson is a 5th grade teacher at Mississippi River Elementary School. Christenson says she knew she wanted to be a teacher at an early age and that things have changed drastically in the classroom since she started.

The ROCORI school district is hoping they can start school before Labor Day in the fall. Labor Day lands on September 7th this year, which is the latest it can land. ROCORI Superintendent Scott Staska says the district made a request to the state to start on September 1st, but is now in limbo

The St. Cloud area school board is starting the process of filling an empty seat left by Cindy Harner. Harner was arrested on May 13th on suspicion of 4th degree DWI and 3rd Degree Test Refusal. There will be an open application process for the open seat.

The St. Cloud Area School District approved their 2015-2016 budget on Thursday night. The overall budget, including food services, community services, building construction, debt service and dental and health insurance, totals $185 million for 2015-2016.

School lunch prices will be slightly more expensive starting in the 2015-2016 school year. Lunches will cost 5-cents more. Elementary lunches will cost $2.55, secondary lunches would go up to $2.75 and Adult lunches will be $3.90. State and Federal law requires schools to charge a minimum weighted average price for paid lunches.

Governor Mark Dayton vetoed an education funding bill on Tuesday, saying it wasn't big enough and didn't include preschool funding for four-year-olds in the state. Locally, Sauk Rapids-Rice Superintendent Dan Bittman says he supports the idea of early education and preschool, but adds the district would run into space concerns if the state required it for four-year-olds.

Talahi students had a chance to get outside last week for some hands on learning by flying drones and planting trees around the school. Students helped with digging holes, watering and carrying the mulch for the trees. Sam Court is the STEM Integrationist at Talahi Community School, he says it was great to see students having fun with a hands-on experience.

St. Cloud School board vice-chair Cindy Harner, who was arrested last week for suspicion of driving while intoxicated, resigned from her position on Friday. School board chair Dennis Whipple says he wasn't expecting the announcement from Harner and that the district will miss her contributions.

The Sartell-St. Stephen School District is expected to see continued growth but at a slower pace for the next 10 years. The district has seen enrollment increase by 25.9 percent for the past 10 years and now has 3,759 students enrolled in its schools, compared to 2,985 in 2005-2006.