School board votes to increase levy 0.89 percent

The I.S.D. 166 school board voted to set a preliminary 2022 levy to its maximum allowable rate which will result in an increase of 0.89 percent for next year if it isn’t lowered by the board before the end of December.

Last year’s levy was $1,729,040.89, which represented a 7.39 percent reduction from the levy passed in December 2019.

If the .89 percent levy stays it will result in an increase of about $3.71 per year for a $250,000 residential homestead property.

The board set December 16, 2021, at 6 p.m. for the Truth in Taxation meeting which will be held at the Cook County School campus.

Jonathan Hedstrom and Ann Schultz were hired as part time math teachers. Tina Eich was hired as a preschool teacher for approximately 40 hours per week and Melissa Hackett Ullman was hired as a paraprofessional. Jackson Feddema resigned as a long-term substitute/paraprofessional and Dave Bartel reigned as the Nordic Ski coach.

In Chris Lindholm’s superintendent report he wrote, “The lead team for the Community-based Navigation Model, Local Community Resource Hub grant (DHS) that was started in 2020-21 through a collaborative effort by the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Cook County Schools, and Cook County Public Health Department has wrapped up the year one effort to implement a robust needs assessment and is now preparing to share the result with key stakeholders in the county. The key findings include a shortage of approximately 130 children slots in the county and a need to help families with young children connect to key services and recreational activities. The team is planning to share the report with the school board on October 28.