The School District 166 board held a workshop to get to know new superintendent Beth Schwarz at the Birch Terrace in Grand Marais on July 14. Top: The board discussed the strengths—and areas that can be improved—at ISD 166. (L-R) Leonard Sobanja, Board Chair Bill Huggins, Rod Wannebo, Mary Sanders, Eric Kemp. Left: Schwarz started the workshop off on a positive note, asking board members to list the things about ISD 166 that earn a grade of “A.”
If you want to get to know Beth Schwarz, Cook County Schools’ new superintendent, you can find her Friday mornings from 7:00 to 7:40 at World’s Best Donuts in Grand Marais. She will be there throughout the summer to meet community members for casual conversation.
At its Monday, July 20, 2009 meeting, school board member Eric Kemp said he was excited to have Schwarz join the district. Thefact that she was hired from a pool of five finalists, Kemp said, speaks to her exceptional qualifications.
Schwarz has already suggested some changes for ISD 166, and one of those is the implementation of a community comment period during each regular school board meeting. The board has been available to listen to public comments in the half hour before each meeting, but according to Mary Sanders, because the board is not officially in session during that time, the board could not respond. The effect of that, Sanders said, was that people did not feel acknowledged.
Those wishing to speak with the board during the community comment period must talk about an item on the agenda and are asked to limit comments to three minutes. The board approved a page of guidelines for the comments, which said in part, “In the interest of open communications, the Cook County School District wishes to provide an opportunity for the public to address the school board. …During Community Comments the board and administration listen to comments and respond immediately whenever possible. If additional research is needed, responses will be shared at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.
“…Please be aware that disrespectful comments or comments of a personal nature, directed at an individual either by name or inference, will not be allowed. Personnel concerns should be directed first to the principal, then to the superintendent and finally in writing to the board.”
The board also decided to meet 15 minutes before each regular meeting for an informal social time with the public.
Online course options
K-12 Principal Gwen Carman reported that students will have online courses available to them through the district. Numerous teachers in the district have received training through a statewide consortium and could provide online classes for students outside the district as well.
Theboard voted to approve a letter in support of a community grant to bring broadband Internet to the entire county. Enhanced Internet capabilities would eliminate some problems the school has run into with online learning programs, Carman said.
Student handbook policy changes
The board discussed small changes to the CCHS student handbook regarding attendance, tardiness, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
The 2009-10 school year policy gives parents the discretion to excuse their children from school as long as they notify the office within 48 hours of the absence.
More than three days or 10 classes of unexcused absences, however, may result in the development of an attendance contract mutually agreed upon by the parents, student, and principal. The handbook states, “Violation of an attendance contract may result in losing credit for missed classes.” School board member Rod Wannebo said it seems like the handbook implies that unexcused absences can result in losing academic credit. It reads “like a threat,” he said. Superintendent Schwarz did not offer to change the wording, but she said the school cannot deny academic credit on the basis of attendance.
Kitchen staff restructuring
At the recommendation of Schwarz, the board voted to eliminate the eight-hour-aday position of head cook and replace it with two other jobs. A food service manager will be hired for two hours a day at $18.20 an hour. Theperson they are seeking will have expertise in nutrition and will plan menus, order food, and send required reports to the state. An additional kitchen helper will be sought for six hours a day. Thechanges are expected to save the district $2,369 over the course of the school year.
Truck to speed snow removal
The board approved the purchase of a used pickup truck and plow at a cost of $14,700. Offsetting the cost would be the $1,500 trade-in of a 1997 Astro van that can no longer legally transport students because it has hit the 12-year mark.
According to Maintenance Director Mike Groth, the truck would be used to haul things like recyclables and would reduce the cost of hiring outside plowing contractors by $5,000 a year. The last three winters have each brought over 100 inches of snow, Groth said. They have been paying $60 an hour for snow plowing, while school custodians could do it for $15 an hour, he said. Theschool has also been renting a Bobcat for $35 an hour and could save on that expense by using its own truck to do some of that work.
The last pickup owned by the district was used for decades, Groth said, and he would expect this one to be used for decades as well.
Mary Sanders recalled last winter when snow fell, thawed, and then froze into deep ruts before the plowing contractor got to it.
Bill Huggins pointed out that if they got a big snowfall and nobody came to plow it, they would know who to talk to if they owned the plow!
Reserve funds will be used for the purchase.
Sale of bus garage
Three offers are pending on the sale of the district’s bus garage at Birch Grove Community Center in Tofte, but the board decided to take some time to decide if it really should sell the building, which is on the market for $38,000.
Housing a school bus at Birch Grove would cost the district at least $5,500 a year, Schwarz said, whereas housing it in Grand Marais would cost at least $14,742 a year – a difference of more than $9,000 a year.
Mike Groth recommended selling the garage because of safety issues, however. If a bus driver arrived at the Birch Grove garage and found that the bus’s battery was dead or its tire was flat, the school might not have enough time to notify parents, who might be headed to work while their students headed into the cold to wait for the bus. Getting a replacement bus to the West End could cause a delay of up to an hour, Groth said, especially because the maintenance staff is operating with a “skeleton crew.”
Last year, the school stopped keeping the bus in Tofte when the weather got cold so that Groth could be nearby each morning making sure all the buses were running properly.
Theboard decided to table the matter until a special meeting at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, just before a work session with Superintendent Schwarz.
About 40 students ride the West End bus to the ISD 166 school complex in Grand Marais.
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