Construction to start in late August on school addition

By Bonnie Kirchman

The Clearbrook-Gonvick School Board approved final plans for bidding on the new addition at the May 20, 2019 meeting. Other topics addressed include room painting, a new NWMF grant, and staffing changes.

Sarah Goudge gave the Spotlight on Education program, featuring photographs of many events students have been participating in over the last month.

Principal’s Report

Principal Carl Dugstad reported on end-of-year activities including kindergarten graduation on May 22nd and the awards ceremony and baccalaureate, also to be held on May 22nd. The school cook-out was successful, as were the senior class meal and the track and field day.

Staff training, including CPR training for staff, completed with the help of Andy Anderson and Neil Dolan, Bagley SRO, was addressed in the principal’s report.  Mr. Anderson is scheduled to complete DARE training in South Dakota this summer. The make-up days for staff will be held on May 28-29 and will focus mainly on curriculum issues.

Mr. Dugstad also reported that Children’s Dental Services will be providing dental care at the school over the summer. The district simply needs to provide space for the service.

Superintendent Report

Mr. Burgess, school superintendent, reported that an Achievement Integration Plan was approved. The school will participate with six area districts in the surrounding area. Students will participate in a program focusing on leadership activities.

A letter from the attorney general of Minnesota was shared with the board. School districts will not be allowed to hold students who have lunch account balances back from graduation. 

At this point in the legislative process, 2% increases are expected for state funding over the next two years. Increased funding for special education is anticipated, however state funding has not been finalized as of the time of the meeting.

Revenue is up somewhat from last year, while expenses have increased by approximately $86,000. The majority of increase in expenses is due to licensing and instruction and repairs.

In staffing changes, Mr. Burgess reported that the district expects to have a full-time speech therapist through BRIC next year. Currently, teletherapy services are being provided, with the student receiving services across a computer screen with a paraprofessional in the room.  Advertising has been placed for a full-time cook.

Consent Calendar

Consent calendar including bills, electronic transfers, and treasurer’s report were presented and approved by the board.

Old Business

The board approved a new agreement of $3,000 to rent the gym from the city of Clearbrook. Students and coaches will assist with setting up and taking down the gym. The school will continue to work with the city to divide these tasks.

New Business

The board approved resolutions to participate in the Minnesota State High School League in 2019-2020 and to name Jeff Burgess as the official authority to approve access for MDE reports.

Ken Anderson, project manager for ICS Consulting, presented final drawings, including the floor plan, of the new early childhood addition for approval from the board. He anticipates bidding to be done in late June with bid packages for general construction, mechanical, electrical work. A bid package for furnishings and equipment will be available later. Construction is expected to start in late August. The new addition will be partitioned off during building, to allow classes to continue during construction. Questions from the board regarding future technology needs and disruption of recess were addressed. The construction includes rough-ins for future technology needs such as SMART boards, with flexibility for future electrical needs incorporated into the plans. School administration is planning options for recess during the construction. 

Various scheduling scenarios in the event of construction delays were also discussed by the board.

A question regarding exceptions to graduation attire was brought to school administration. Currently, the policy does not allow for additions or exceptions to the standard graduation attire. With graduation just days away, the board will revisit this issue later to allow time for study and discussion of the policy.

The board moved to accept a grant from NWMF for $15,000 to be used for a project that will involve students in learning opportunities regarding careers in early childhood education. The grant money will be used to purchase a curriculum addressing social and emotional learning and will help teach students how to interact with others. High school students will be involved in teaching the curriculum to elementary level students in weekly, 20-minute sessions. 

 The board approved a three-color palette including the neutral, blue, and green colors that match the specific colors used in the new addition. These will be the colors used for accent walls in current classrooms and also the colors to be used as classrooms are repainted. Many classrooms are in need of complete paint jobs, after many years of touch-up painting by custodial staff. Staff members have requested a schedule for painting a certain number of rooms each year, to allow them time to plan and prepare their classrooms. Estimates of costs for painting accent walls in classrooms have been received. Additional estimates to paint entire rooms will be obtained. The need for complete painting of classrooms on a rotating schedule will be included in upcoming finance committee discussions.

The hiring of Blake Hanson as a part-time custodian was approved. Blake has been a substitute custodian for the district.

The DCD teacher has resigned. As this has been a BRIC position, the school has the option to continue or hire a teacher directly. Initially, the school will advertise the position but if there isn’t a qualified applicant, the school will continue to contract with BRIC for the DCD position.

The resignation of Andrew Kaucher, high school English teacher, was accepted by the board. Mr. Burgess commented that Mr. Kaucher’s classes were thought provoking and the district was fortunate to have him. Mr. Kaucher is returning to his home state of Pennsylvania to pursue teaching opportunities there.