The Cook County I.S.D. 166 school board adopted the 2017 levy payable in 2018 at its Thursday, Dec. 14 meeting.
The levy of $1,723,667.70 represents a 1.1 percent reduction, which equates to $19,205.10 less than last year’s levy, according to business manager Lori Backlund.
As required by state law, the school board held its Truth in Taxation hearing Thursday before setting the levy.
While a few people were in attendance, no one from the public commented at the hearing held at 6 p.m.
Homestead and non-homestead property owners pay the levy, which only covers about one-quarter of school expenses, said Backlund, who gave a rundown of school revenues and expenditures for the school year.
Audit
Auditor Tim Bradshaw from Wipfli, an accounting firm in Duluth, presented the board with the annual audit report. Bradshaw said he and two other Wipfli employees completed the audit after he spent three days at CCHS at the end of October gathering data and working with district office assistant Pam Puskala and Backlund.
“From this year to last year there was a major improvement,” said Bradshaw.
Last year the district had five compliant issues with the state that needed to be resolved. This year there weren’t any, said Bradshaw, who thanked Backlund and Puskala for their dedication, attention to detail and hard work.
Per pupil spending on students is higher in Cook County than in many places in the state, said Bradshaw, who added, “But that’s a good thing. That’s what you wanted, right?”
Cook County spends $12,368 per pupil. Minnesota averages $11,279 per pupil, which ranks 17th nationally for states.
Bradshaw said the district was nearly spot-on in its minimum fund balance account.
As of June 30, 2017, the district was $6,000 short in its goal to have 12 percent of its yearly operating budget in its fund balance.
The goal is to get the fund balance to 15 percent by June 20, 2018, and on June 30, 2019, the district will try to have a minimum fund balance of 17 percent.
One month of school district expenses is equal to 8 percent of the budget, Bradshaw said. Many school districts save enough money in their fund balance to run for 45 days without state or federal assistance in the event of an emergency.
In other business, the school board:
. Approved the hiring of paraprofessional Elsie McDonnell.
. In light of the recent resignation of K-12 principal Adam Nelson, whose last day will be January 1, assistant principal William (Bill) DeWitt was approved to serve as the interim K-12 principal.
. The third and final reading of the I.S.D. 166 Wellness Policy was approved. The majority of changes were recommended by the Wellness Committee, said Dr. Crandall, and “are attainable,” he added.
. Dr. DeWitt said recently he and school counselor Kris Hoffmann and school social worker Anna Sandstrom attended a bullying investigation training session put on by the Minnesota Department of Education in Duluth. From the bullying guidelines suggested for schools in training, DeWitt said, “We (school district) have great policies” and practices in place. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement, he added.
Because of what was learned in the training, the school’s diversion policy will be updated, said DeWitt.
What will be added are more checks and check-ins with victims of bullying and the victims’ families, said DeWitt. Also, better records will be kept of incidents of bullying, he said.
Another step that will be added is that kids in grades 6-12 who witness bullying will be able to report it anonymously. Some kids that are bullied don’t report the bullying, said DeWitt.
. Approved was the Goals Report as presented by Crandall. A big part of a positive schools climate is looking at the positive cultural change in the school, Crandall said.
. Approved Dan Shirley as the District 5 school board representative. Shirley was the only one to apply for the position after longtime school board member Jeanne Anderson resigned late fall. He will start at the board’s January meeting. Dan, a chemist by trade, and his wife Claire (Hanson) moved to Tofte two years ago to take over Claire’s parents’ Sawbill Outfitters business. “I am honored to join and help out,” said Shirley after he was confirmed.
. Approved hiring Jill Erickson as a longterm substitute to teach middle school math.
. Approved hiring Caleb Johnson as evening custodian.
. The board rescinded the contract offered to Rollin Baird, who applied for the evening custodian position and then decided he didn’t want to accept the job.
. The bus garage, except some small items, is finished and buses are now inside, reported Crandall.
. Julie Bishop, I.S.D. 166 special education teacher, gave the Diversity Committee report.
Bishop said the committee started in the spring of 2017. To date, the group has 22 members, 17 from the school staff and five from the community.
On March 9, 2018 the I.S.D. 166 Diversity Committee will host a half-day Social Justice Conference for middle and high school students, said Bishop, who added that some of the session will be teacher- and student-led.
The goal of the Social Justice Conference is to improve the way kids who may be perceived as different can interact in Cook County schools without fear of prejudice or discrimination. Some of the topics will include discussions about race identity, gender, privilege and justice.
The conference will include safe spaces for kids to talk about these subjects, said Bishop, adding that sessions will be kept “age appropriate.”
“From everything we can tell, we are the first school in outstate Minnesota to do this,” she said.
Students have been stepping to the plate asking to help out, added Bishop. The Unified Club has volunteered, along with the Violence Prevention Center, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, and others who will provide presenters and helpers at the conference.
“We are hoping to make this an annual presentation,” Bishop said. “Society is changing. We recognize that. Let’s stay with the times.”
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