It was a busy meeting Thursday, Sept. 14. The program speaker was Dr. John Schultz, new superintendent at Edina Public Schools. He discussed the upcoming operating levy referendum for the school district.
New member Kelly Anderson was officially inducted into the club. And Tom and Roberta McNellis were honored by Tim Murphy as Major Donors, Level III, to The Rotary Foundation.
New member Kelly Anderson was officially inducted into the club. And Tom and Roberta McNellis were honored by Tim Murphy as Major Donors, Level III, to The Rotary Foundation.
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We were warmly greeted by Bill Carter, Wade Thommen and Kelly Anderson.
President San Asato called the meeting to order at exactly 12:30 p.m. He wished happy birthday to Jean Morrison on Sept. 19. He extended happy anniversary wishes to Harold and Marilyn Hanson and Lloyd and June Pearson—both celebrating 60 years of marriage, which provided a brilliant segue to remind everyone about the 2017 Diamond Jubilee Fundraiser & Gala Sept. 23 at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel.
Mary Hustad gave a stirring invocation and then led us in not only the Pledge of Allegiance, but in the Four-Way Test as well.
Jennifer Shinners introduced guests, and there were a bunch of them: Roberta McNellis, Sadgi DeCosta, Fisal Deri, Rich Kleber, Meg Barrett, Sheila Asato, Amy Lloyd, Matthew Fox, Dick Teegen, Bocar Kane, Paul Ticky, Shane Anderson, Heather Lane, Rep. Dario Anselmo, Jerri Adams and Erica Allenburg.We hosted one visiting Rotarian: Molly Greene from the Charleston, South Carolina, Breakfast Club. Molly assured us that Charleston was still above water and that we should all visit there sometime.
Dan Halberg did a special recognition of former Rotary Scholar Dr. Sady Selaimen.Sady is from Brazil, but studied at the University of Minnesota to become an ENT with the help of financial support from Rotary. Dan reminded us about the wonderful ROI on that scholarship given the many medical and charitable contributions that Sady has made in Brazil during his life.Meg Barrett from Edina Public Schools thanked the club for our support of the Kids Club-Wise Guys program, which is a before and after school program for K-5 kids in Edina Schools. Over 1,000 kids participated in the summer version of the program this past summer. That program has a special emphasis on art. Eighty-eight students were able to enter art projects into competition at the Minnesota State Fair this year through the program.
Don Hutchison and Lisa Walker danced their way to the podium to remind us all about the upcoming Fundraiser & Gala. Celebrating the 60th anniversary of service to the community, the Edina Rotary Foundation will host its annual Fundraiser & Gala Saturday, Sept. 23. This year's fundraising event, dubbed “Diamond Jubilee,” will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, 5601 W. 78th St. The event will feature silent and live auctions, raffle, dinner and entertainment by “Deuces Wild!” dueling pianos. All proceeds from the event will be used for local and international service projects of the Rotary Club of Edina. The ticket purchasing deadline has passed. If you have questions on your tickets or registration, contact Jennifer Bennerotte or Jennifer Garske.
Tim Murphy led a very special recognition of Tom and Roberta McNellis to celebrate their recognition by Rotary as a Major Donor, Level III. Tom and Roberta have focused their interest and giving to polio eradication as a tribute to Tom’s brother, Jerry, who contracted polio as a young man. Tom and Roberta received a thunderous standing ‘O’ from the club after an emotional tribute from Tom to his late brother.
Steve Slyce led the induction of new member Kelly Anderson. Kelly works at Oasis HR and lives in Lakeville. Her sponsor to the club is John Buttolph.
Val Burke introduced our esteemed speaker, Edina Public School’s Superintendent Dr. John Schultz. John is "The New Guy." He takes over the reins of the school district from former superintendent, and Edina Morningside Rotary Club member, Dr. Ric Dressen. Dr. Schultz is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, Augsburg College and the University of Minnesota. John told us that he is a teacher at heart. His secret for teaching kids is to find their passion, and then use that passion as a path to learning.
After sharing some interesting tidbits with us about his family, John launched right into the main show, which was to talk about the upcoming operating levy referendum for Edina Schools on Nov. 7. The operating levy that Edina School District residents will vote on will decide whether or not an operating levy from 2007, which expires this year, is renewed and extended.
The theme of the campaign to support the adoption of the referendum is “Sustain and Maintain." Sustain the quality of the district by Maintaining investment in the district. The ballot question will ask school district residents if they wish to increase the general education revenue available to Edina Schools through an operating levy equal to $1,857.46 per pupil in 2018 that would increase to $2,075.07 in 2020. If adopted, this operating levy would stay in place until 2027. The estimated tax impact of the adoption of the referendum question on the median single family home in the city, which is currently valued at $501,000, is $182 per year.
If the ballot question is approved, the district will be able to sustain class sizes, continue to be able to attract and retain excellent teaching staff, ensure that students are prepared for college, and remain competitive nationally and internationally. If the ballot question is not approved, the district will have to cut $13.3 million from its 2018 operating budget.Dr. Schultz emphasized the importance of keeping the operating levy in place for the next ten years and reminded everyone living in the district to vote on Nov. 7.
Greg Hanks thanked our speaker. President Asato reminded us that people first get into Rotary, but then Rotary gets into them.
Meeting adjourned at precisely 1:29 p.m.
