The ISD 166 school board agreed to work with the Superior Cycling Association to enhance two miles of trails on the Grand Marais school grounds.
The search for Cook County School – ISD 166’s next superintendent continues. Lake Superior School Superintendent Dr. Bill Crandall and Board Vice-chair Tom Burns were on hand for the February 4, 2016 meeting of the ISD 166 school board. There is mutual interest in investigating a collaborative arrangement to share Crandall as the chief administrator of both districts.
Crandall, who resides in Knife River, has been the superintendent of Lake Superior for four years and had worked for the district seven years at a different time. Lake Superior has an enrollment of 1,381 students with buildings in both Two Harbors and Silver Bay.
The district has a telepresence system which it currently utilizes for some meetings and classes. Cook County has the equipment for the same system and is working on getting it up and running through Northland Cooperative. It is anticipated that the system would be beneficial if ISD 166 proceeded with sharing an administrator.
Burns believes this would be a positive move for both the taxpayers and students of each district but added that the subject has only been a conversation by the Lake Superior board. The next step is for the ISD 166 board to make a draft of their expectations of a collaborative agreement for the Lake Superior board and Crandall to consider further.
The search for a full-time superintendent/kindergarten through grade five principal with the aid of the Minnesota School Board Association remains ongoing as well. Board Chair Jeanne Anderson updated the board saying there are currently six candidates working on submissions but typically most applications are received near the deadline which will not be until March 6.
In the event a joint agreement is attainable to share a superintendent, a decision will need to be made regarding the kindergarten through grade five principal position. Board Member Deb White inquired as to the budget savings in that instance. Superintendent Beth Schwarz suggested that the elementary principal could have a shorter contract year and the high school principal could perform all of the duties over the summer months.
Trail improvement plans
Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux appeared before the board on behalf of the Superior Cycling Association (SCA) seeking a letter of support to create approximately two miles of trails on school property. The letter would become part of an application for a $25,000 to $50,000 “Places to Play” grant being offered through U.S. Bank and the Minnesota Vikings.
The grant requires that an equal amount be contributed by the receiving party. Arrowsmith DeCoux stated that most of the matching funds would be covered in kind by supplying machinery, expert time and volunteer time in the construction. The association also has much of the construction material needed for boardwalks and bridges which would go toward the match. SCA has already pledged $1,700 for the completion of wetland delineation.
The trails would convert about a mile and a half of existing trails. SCA would take responsibility for basic maintenance such as the clearing and brushing of trails. Arrowsmith DeCoux said they will need to talk about any future major bridge or boardwalk maintenance. Board Member Terry Collins asked Schwarz to inquire that since this will be a public recreation trail on school property will insurance premiums be affected. The board agreed to issue the letter of support after an investigation of the insurance ramifications is completed.
Environmental Science presentation
Under a new agenda format supported by the board during the last meeting, individual board member reports as well as the superintendent and principal reports will be submitted in written format. The reports will be included in the board packet that gets distributed prior to the meeting. Also in the new format will be a student/district highlight section near the beginning of each meeting.
The inaugural highlight presentation was given by a contingent of students representing instructor April Wahlstrom’s advanced placement environmental science class. The elective college credit class did a presentation on their current unit of study on waste management practices. They reported that the school produced 652 pounds of garbage in the week they monitored it and the annual expense is about $31,600 to the district.
The group, which is currently pursuing grants through Coca-Cola and the Statewide Health Improvement Program, discussed ways to encourage composting and recycling as a means of decreasing the cost of waste disposal.
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