A three-sport athlete at Austin High School has $150 invested hitting the courts, the gridiron or the ice.

Wednesday, October 20, 1999

A three-sport athlete at Austin High School has $150 invested hitting the courts, the gridiron or the ice.

Topping the action items at today’s meeting is a vote on an athletic fee cap to make athletic participation less of a financial burden.

Currently middle school and high school students participating in athletics pay a $50 fee for each sport. The board will vote on limiting the charges to two participation fees per student per year, meaning a three sport athlete would get the third sport for free. The proposal would also reduce the middle school fee by $10, to $40 a sport.

Other Big Nine school have varying policies on athletic fees. Albert Lea and Winona have no caps on a $50 and a $75 fee per high school sport policy, while Faribault, Mankato, Owatonna and Rochester all place a cap on the amount a family has to pay, for those with several children in athletics.

"The Austin cap is strictly per student, not per family," Superintendent James Hess said.

Also, Austin Education Association President Cheri Stageberg will make public the teachers’ desire for a fair settlement at the 4 p.m. meeting.

The teachers union president expressed "disappointment" earlier this month after negotiations with the district reached the point where a state mediator had to be requested. That mediator arrives Nov. 4.

In the meantime, teacher contract negotiations continue. The two negotiating teams met Oct. 16 and will meet again Oct. 26 at the district administration building.

Chief AEA negotiator Jeff Ollman, a teacher at Banfield, said he thought Stageberg simply wanted to point out to the entire board the pace of the negotiations and her hopes that the teachers would get a fair settlement.

The board has a policy of not responding to negotiations during a board meeting, however, discussion may be a possibility at the public forum immediately following the meeting.

Other agenda items include the following:

– Reports on the upcoming writing festival, ESL innovations and the Ranch School.

– A request for approval of cooperative sponsorship of a joint wrestling program with Pacelli and Lyle High Schools.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend the 4 p.m. meeting in the Ellis Middle School Commons. There will be a public forum where people may ask questions of the board immediately after the meeting.