By Patrick Tepoorten

After summarizing the results of the district's Minnesota Student Survey at the Jan. 10 meeting of the School Board, North Branch Director of Teaching and Learning Jan Ashlin concluded, "Ninth- and twelfth-grade females are a real at-risk population."

Ashlin focused on just a sampling of categories from the survey (see last week's article titled "New survey shows more NB students want to go to college" for an in-depth look), but those samplings were enough to bolster her conclusion.

Some of the statistics she highlighted included:

• 29 percent of ninth-grade, and 32 percent of twelfth-grade girls have at one time or another hurt themselves of purpose;
• 18 percent on ninth-grade, and 22 percent of twelfth-grade girls have been treated for mental or emotional problems;
• 41 percent on ninth-grade, and 32 percent of twelfth-grade girls have had suicidal thoughts over the last year or more.

Another stark statistic was the rise of alcohol and drug use among twelfth-grade female students. Respondents who reported to using both in the past year rose over 15 percent since 2001, from roughly 28 percent to 45 percent.

The district is planning a staff development day for Jan. 21, with a strong focus on mental health issues. Given the nature of the survey results, it is a safe bet that high school girls will be center stage. Said Superintendent Deb Henton, "We have some issues we need to talk about very seriously."

In other news:

• The board held an organizational meeting prior to its regular meeting and no changes were made to board structure. Kim Salo remains chairperson, Jeanne Walz as vice chair, Donna Hubbard as board clerk, and Karen Saltis as board treasurer. Upon request by Hubbard, the annual chairperson salary was increased from $500 to $750 due to the "time consuming" nature of the position.

The ECM Post Review was retained as the district's official newspaper.

• The board voted to deny a grievance (heard at the Dec. 13 meeting) by a bus driver seeking reinstatement after a black-out episode in January of last year.

• It was announced that contract negotiations between the district and Local 284, the union representing district custodial staff, would utilize mediation, as the district and the union have reached an impasse.