Board Bulletin

The School Board was honored to help celebrate the 579 graduates of the class of 2024. Congratulations to the graduates of East, West, and Central High Schools as well as Adult Basic Education, Futures, and INSITE. We’re proud of all of your accomplishments and wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

The big picture: Construction on this year’s referendum-funded projects at Dakota Meadows Middle School, Center for Learning, and Bridges, Roosevelt and Washington Elementaries is well underway. All projects are currently on schedule, except for Bridges, which is slightly delayed due to the discovery of a large stormwater pipe in the construction zone that had to be rerouted.

Keep up to date: MAPS has launched a Bond Construction Webpage, which will be continuously updated with the latest information about the referendum projects including pictures and videos. In addition, you can view the most recent update from our construction manager Kraus-Anderson here.

The big picture: Mankato Area Public Schools and Community Education each year honor individuals within our community who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to nurturing and fostering positive development among youth with the Spirit of Youth Award.

Thanks to this year’s honorees: The School Board extends our deepest appreciation to this year’s honorees for their amazing contributions to the well-being and growth of our community’s youth through education, mentorship, volunteerism, or other forms of support. Please be sure to extend your gratitude to the individuals below the next time you see them!

The 2024 Spirit of Youth award recipients are:

The big picture: Each year, the School Board must establish a preliminary budget for the coming fiscal year. At our June 17 meeting, the Board unanimously approved the preliminary budget for the 2024-2025 school year.

Budget stabilized: The good news is that, thanks to the financial management of our Board and district leadership, the school district’s budget is stable and MAPS is projected to have a slight budget surplus this year. This will help continue to ensure that our fund balance (i.e. the district’s savings account) is at the level set by Board Policy - which is 8% and represents about a month of the district’s operating expenses. A solid fund balance helps protect the financial security of our school district. It’s also important to remember that this financial stability is in large part due to difficult budget reductions made in previous years. Despite recent investments made by the Legislature in public education, over the last several decades state investments in public education have not kept up with inflation. Our School Board and district leadership continue to be vigilant in planning for the long-term financial future of our school district.

Read the budget: The public can view the entire preliminary budget book and the slide deck presentation provided to the School Board by clicking on the links.

The big picture: Mankato Area Public Schools was included in the supplemental education budget bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature and signed by Governor Walz. Specifically, MAPS will receive nearly $400,000 to support participation in a partnership of 12 school districts across the state to support schools in developing and implementing innovative strategies to improve student attendance and help policymakers determine how to effectively support district efforts to improve student attendance and engagement. MAPS will establish a task force that will be composed of schools, county, and community partners to oversee this work.

Why it matters: While daily attendance rates in MAPS schools regularly top 90%, regular and consistent attendance of individual students has dipped since the pandemic. The 2023-2024 school year saw improvements, and MAPS has been tapped by the state to help identify and implement the best practices that reset attendance expectations for students and families.

The big picture: Through the new Center for Learning, the School Board has invested considerable resources in transforming and expanding early learning and preschool services offered by MAPS. Over the past year, more than 1,000 of our youngest learners and their families have been served through Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), Early Childhood Screening, Early Childhood Special Education, Preschool, and ACES, which are now all co-located at the Center for Learning. In addition, the School Board recently received an update on a number of new collaborations with community partners, including a new partnership with Blue Earth County Public Health to offer a Newborn Discovery class to support and connect new parents.

You’re invited: With the final phase of expansion funded by the voters in last year’s referendum nearly complete, the public is invited to attend an open house at the Center for Learning on August 12 from 4:30 - 6:30pm. This will be a fantastic opportunity to see the new space and learn more about the tremendous range of services offered at the Center for Learning.