Blair-Taylor switching from laude to GPA system

Following several months of discussion throughout the summer, the Blair-Taylor school district is switching from its current laude system to a GPA-based system as a means of emphasizing the district’s support of students pursuing a variety of career paths post-graduation.

The B-T school board approved a change from the laude system to a more traditional GPA-based system in terms of recognizing high achieving students at graduation. The laude system will still apply to the class of 2026 but will be phased out starting with the class of 2027.

Blair-Taylor superintendent Lynn Halverson noted that the district weighed the positives and negatives of both systems before finally deciding on the change. Under the laude system, high achieving students who are pursuing career paths that don’t require any or as many laude-identified courses won’t get the same chance for recognition at graduation.

Though it was noted in the district’s assessment that a GPA system has drawbacks of its own — such as some students potentially trying to protect their GPA and missing out on courses that could give them more college credits — the board landed on the decision to switch to a GPA system so that a greater range of high achieving students can be recognized at graduation.

“In the end what we found is that any system that we have is going to have pros and cons. But one of the major cons with the current laude system is that it subconsciously puts more importance on certain career paths,” Halverson told the Times. “We just firmly believe that all careers are important. It’s not just the four-year college-bound path careers that are important. We need welders. We need electricians. We need plumbers. And they’re all well-paying careers. And if the mission of our district is to create citizens that are contributing citizens to society there’s many avenues that you can meet that mission of the district.”

At last Monday’s meeting, Halverson went over a hypothetical revenue limit worksheet with the board. Last year, the district’s property value was $535,746,869 with a levy of $5,011,431, resulting in a $9.35 mill rate. The preliminary 2025-26 numbers show a property value of $608,801,095 and a levy of $5,016,152 for a mill rate of $8.24, though those are subject to change.

The board also approved a proposal for the construction of a new greenhouse due to the existing greenhouse not getting adequate ventilation to operate properly. The new greenhouse project would cost $59,776.24, with $20,000 coming from grant money and the rest coming from the district’s special projects fund.