The School District 166 school board meeting on Thursday, July 21 started off on a friendly note, with welcomes to new Superintendent William Crandall and Assistant Principal Bill Dewitt. As the school board was waiting for the meeting to begin, Board Member Deb White quipped, “I feel like we should have a drum roll!”
Dr. Crandall said his first full day at ISD 166 was very busy. He said he asked District Office Assistant Pam Puskala to schedule meetings for him and he joked, “And boy did she!”
Crandall introduced Assistant Principal Dewitt, who also thanked everyone for the welcome he received. He expressed appreciation to school staff, noting that several employees came in on a day off to visit with him. Principal Adam Nelson said he was very pleased to have Dewitt on staff and noted that he had “hit the ground running.”
In fact, Dewitt took the opportunity to talk a little bit about his interaction with the Early Children and Family Education (ECFE) group. He said it was good to see such an energetic group. And, Dewitt told the school board, ECFE is hosting a pancake breakfast on August 5-6 during the upcoming Fisherman’s Picnic celebration. He said he was impressed by all the community businesses that donate to assist in this fundraiser. He urged the school board to come see him at the pancake breakfast.
Staff changes for new school year
Principal Nelson said Maintenance Supervisor Tom Nelson and his crews have been “working relentlessly” to get rooms cleaned and ready for the start of school. He is still working to finalize scheduling for some elementary classes, but with the assistance of Assistant Principal Dewitt, “Things have been going smoothly.”
Nelson said interviews were conducted and all teacher positions have been filled for the 2016-17 school year.
The school board passed a motion to approve the hiring of Jim Lundorff from Roseville as a fifth-grade teacher at a salary of $46,769. Board Member Terry Collins asked why a fifth-grade teacher was being hired and Nelson said because there are two sections of fifth grade next year. “So we have the same number of elementary school teachers,” asked Collins, to which Nelson said yes.
Although Collins had expressed some reluctance to immediately hire a band teacher, the board approved hiring Brianna Volbrecht, a recent graduate of Bethel College as K-12 music/ band teacher at a salary of $37,278. Collins abstained from the vote, which passed.
The board approved hiring Dave Hanson, who just retired from Lakeville North, as industrial arts instructor at a salary of $49,263. Nelson said he will be able to teach the Lake Superior College courses that are currently offered at ISD 166.
Work agreements were approved for a number of current employees, including Principal Nelson, whose agreement was renewed with a base salary of $89,362.
Agreements were reached with school technology staff. John Jacobsen, the technology coordinator, received a two-year agreement at a salary of $43,981 for each year, after which time Jacobsen plans to retire. Working with Jacobsen as technology assistant is Daniel Henry who will receive an hourly wage of $17.50 per hour for 2016- 2017 and $18 per hour for 2017-2018.
An agreement was also approved for Jill Boen, the media center supervisor/ assessment assistant. Her agreement calls for $16.50 per hour for the 2016-2017 school year.
The two positions that were not recommended for renewal by former Superintendent Beth Schwarz at the last school board meeting were presented— and approved. A unanimous motion passed to renew the agreement of School Nurse, RN Kay Borud at a wage of $20.81 per hour for the 2016-2017 school year.
Also approved was the agreement for Food Service Specialist Linda Bockovich at an annual salary of $28,922, with an allowance of $18.50 per hour for duties outside the contract (such as overseeing community events that use the cafeteria kitchen).
As members of the personnel committee, Collins and White negotiated the work agreements with the current employees and of Bockovich, Collins said she has been proficient and her food service program has come in consistently under budget. For Borud, Collins said simply that annual reports to the school board are very important.
White added that the committee asked that both employees meet with Dr. Crandall as soon as possible to talk to him about their jobs and expectations. Crandall said he met with both Borud and Bockovich that day. He said he gave them some “homework,” to come up with goals for their respective departments. He said he looks forward to meeting with them again.
School nurse gives report
Borud fulfilled at least one goal given her by the personnel committee—she gave the school board an update on activities in the nurse’s office for the previous school year. She noted that the last year had been a “high illness” year, in all the schools in the county.
She said she worked with Special Education volunteer Sandra Taenzer to write a grant to the North Shore Health Care Foundation to purchase a Spot Vision Screener, which does not require the patient to speak or participate in the test. This is especially helpful for very young or nonverbal students. The Grand Marais Lions Club also contributed to the $7,500 purchase.
Borud said she will be downtown at the Fisherman’s Picnic from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, August 6 giving demonstrations of the equipment.
Finally, Borud said she wants to work with school administration to get a better system in place for reimbursement of special education work conducted by the nurse’s office. She said that could bring some money into the school.
“Thank you for allowing me the privilege of being the nurse here,” said Borud. “I really love my job.”
In other business
. Although it is the midst of summer, Principal Nelson said the Fall Sports meeting was scheduled for Monday, August 8 in the high school gym.
. Dr. Crandall and Financial Specialist Lori Backlund presented an update on the ISD 166 long-term facilities maintenance plan. Dr. Crandall said some legislative changes had been made in long-term facility funding which may benefit Cook County High School, thanks to the Minnesota Rural Education Association (MREA). Crandall said he and Backlund would look at the numbers and get back to the board with more information.
. In related discussion, Crandall recommended paying membership dues of $825 to MREA. He noted that because he is serving as superintendent for ISD 166, ISD 166 sees some savings as the membership fee is shared by the two districts.
. Collins said he had met with the community group promoting the fall levy and bond questions. He said the group has asked for specific information on what will be cut from programs and what building and maintenance projects will be left undone if the measures fail.
. After reviewing the community comments guidelines included in the school board packet for each meeting, Dr. Crandall said he thought the direction was clear. The only suggestion was to post the guidelines on the school’s website so community members have an idea of what to expect before they come to a meeting.
It was agreed that community comments would be added back on the school board meeting agendas.
. The board scheduled a workshop for goal setting for July 26.
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