Action of the School Board Action of the School Board 08/24/15

Meeting Date:
Aug. 24, 2015

Board Chair
Tom Heidemann

Vice Chair

Marci Anderson

Treasurer
Bill Harvey

ACTION

of the School
Board
Anoka-Hennepin School District

Recognitions

Communications and Public Relations, Community Ed win NSPRA awards

Anoka-Hennepin’s five-member communication and public relations team along with the
communications office in the district’s Community Education department collected a total
of seven national awards for high achievement in communications. The recognition is provided by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), a professional organization for public and private school districts and post-secondary institutions from around
the country.
An upgrade of the district website was recognized with a prestigious 2015 NSPRA Golden
Achievement Award. In addition, the team earned three awards of excellence — which
is the highest award given for publications or branding efforts — one for the Focus community newsletter, one for the Visual and Identity Brand Book, and one for Community
Educations’s brand refresh. The district’s 2014-15 back-to-school video introducing new
Superintendent David Law won an award of merit; Community Education’s Getting Ready
for Kindergarten, Easy as 1-2-3!, earned an award of merit for special purpose publication;
and Community Education’s early learning brochure won honorable mention for special
purpose publication.

Transportation Administrator of the Year

Keith Paulson, the director of transportation, was recognized for his selection as the state’s
top transportation administrator for 2015 by the Minnesota Association for Pupil Transportation (MAPT).

Clerk

Jeff Simon

Paulson, who has been with Anoka-Hennepin as director of transportation for eight years,
has been a leader in student transportation statewide and an active member of MAPT since
1984, having served on that organization’s board of directors and as president. He’s also a
board member on the state Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee.
At Anoka-Hennepin schools, Paulson leads a transportation department that provides
daily service to 34,000 students at 19,000 bus stops with 325 buses.

Director

Certified Administrators of School Finance and Operations

Director

The SFO Certification is granted to highly qualified individuals who fulfill multiple requirements, including demonstrating eligibility (through work experience and education),
passing a comprehensive two-part exam that tests competency in accounting and school
business management topics, and adhering to the ASBO International Certification Code of
Conduct. Vargas and Koehler are only two of 10 business professionals in the state of Minnesota to receive this distinction.

William Fields

Nicole Hayes

Michelle Vargas, chief financial officer, and John Koehler, finance director, were recognized
for the SFO Designation - Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations, a designation provided by the Association for School Business Officers International (ASBO).

Communications, delegations and petitions
ANOKA-HENNEPIN
SCHOOLS
A future without limit

Rick Heller provided the School Board with a data, literature and materials for the district’s
reading and print disabled families.