Last year, the Shakopee Public Schools invested $71,913 in arranging an independent inquiry to examine the district’s ‘operational well-being’, an examination otherwise referred to as ‘the NeuVest report’. Those who tracked the developments in the district during the previous year may recollect that the Shakopee School Board commissioned a firm known as NeuVest for the probe in April. It was understood that NeuVest’s services came at a rate of $275 per hour, but the exact expense remained unclear. The final cost is now known, although the findings of the 364-page report remain elusive since the document, when disclosed in August, was heavily redacted.
The estimated expense disclosed by the school authorities at the time of the report’s release was close to $57,000. In a separate development, former Shakopee Mayor Brad Tabke has once again been named a member of the Metropolitan Council’s Transportation Advisory Board. This advisory board, founded in 1974, was structured to help plan transportation for the region surrounding the Twin Cities. The confirmation of Tabke’s appointment happened on January 24; he was initially appointed to the council in 2015.
Brad Tabke is not just restricting his activities to his reappointment. He recently ran a virtual seminar titled, ‘5 Things You Wanted to Know (But Were Afraid to Ask) About Running for Local Office’. The seminar was organised online on February 3. Unexpectedly, when the Shakopee Valley News shared posts about the Better Newspaper Contest held by the Minnesota Newspaper Association in late January, we spotted someone particularly interesting who ‘liked’ our posts.
Interim Superintendent Gary Anger showed his appreciation for various staff tweets regarding the multiple awards garnered by the Valley News reporters for their coverage of the previous Superintendent Rod Thompson’s suspected financial irregularities. These alleged oversights by Thompson led to his arrest and several charges are now being held against him in court. Anger is typically tight-lipped regarding this matter, yet he has been overall supportive of Shakopee related events. Nevertheless, his approving ‘like’ on Twitter did not go unnoticed.
In a related event, Burnsville High School played host to a career fair recently. As a part of the press team, I managed to have a prime position to observe the kind of decisions faced by the 10th-grade students. The young learners roamed the BHS activity center interacting with professionals from various sectors, who were manning stalls representing their areas and places of work.
The students displayed a natural tendency towards certain stalls over others. There was a heightened interest in journalism, and I shared with them the excitement of covering a variety of topics ranging from crime incidents to governmental activities, educational reforms, and much more. During the expo, there was one particular student whose impression was notable— an enthusiastic young woman who confidently introduced herself, articulated her large aspirations without hesitation.
Her dream is to contribute her writing to National Geographic. Given her enthusiasm, I made her aware of a professional freelancing group that readily assists individuals wanting to write for major publications. This early exposure to career choices aligns very well with the new curriculum approach advanced by the high school, known as ‘Pathways’.
The ‘Pathways’ approach emboldens students to start exploring potential career options at an early stage. It’s a valuable strategy, especially considering the financial burden students can face while changing paths or discovering new interests during their college years.