Clearbrook-Gonvick School Board Votes to Accept Bids for New Addition
Tue, 01/28/2020 - 2:50pm
admin
By:
By Bonnie Kirchman for the Leader-Record
At the January 22nd regular meeting of the Clearbrook-Gonvick School Board, members voted to accept bids for the construction work on the early-childhood education addition. Luke Selken, Project Engineer for ICS, presented the bid information to the board. Selken reported that there was more interest in bidding for the project than there had been in the summer. ICS recommended that the district enters into contract with Haataja Contracting of Menahga, Minnesota for the general construction work, with a total bid amount of $969,700. Custom Aire Inc., of Grand Forks, North Dakota was recommended for the mechanical work, with a bid of $292,890. ICS recommended Hill River Electric Inc. of Gully, Minnesota for the electrical work, based on the bid of $108,375.42. The bids were accepted in three separate motions, with Richard Hetland abstaining from the vote on the electrical work bid.
Election of officers for the board resulted in Jeff Westrum continuing as president and Tracy Imle continuing as clerk. Corey Petterson was elected as treasurer for the board. Members also voted on committee assignments, opting to keep these the same as last year. Board meeting dates will remain on the 3rd Monday of each month, except for months when the date falls on a holiday. The board voted to keep their salaries the same as last year, with officers receiving $65 per meeting and members receiving $60. Negotiation meetings will continue to be paid at a rate of $45 per meeting and committee members will receive $40.
Border State Bank and Northern State Bank will remain as the official depositories and the Leader-Record and Farmers Independent will be the official publications for the school. The board also voted to keep Knutson, Flynn, and Deans as the official school attorney.
Board members approved Jeff Burgess as the authorized LEA representative and Tom Stenzel as the representatives to the Minnesota State High School League. The official signature responsibilities for the school will continue to be held by the superintendent, business manager, human resources director, board chair, and treasurer.
Sarah Goudge, science teacher for the district, presented the Spotlight on Education. Among the many school activities she highlighted was the Second Step program, a social-emotional learning program for the younger students. This program is taught by high school students under the supervision of Megan Godtland, school counselor, and has been funded through a grant received from the Northwest Minnesota Foundation. The Bear Pride program continues as a way to recognize students who are working hard, exhibiting a positive attitude, and demonstrating kindness. Elementary students who are nominated by staff members are eligible for drawings for pizza certificates that have been donated by DaRoo’s Pizza.
Principal Carl Dugstad reported that NWEA testing is underway and the results will help teachers evaluate students’ midyear progress. The teachers are looking at curriculum in their Professional Learning Communities, focusing on what is being taught more than how it is being taught. On Monday, January 20th, the teachers attended workshops in Thief River Falls. School administrators are reaching out to parents of students who may be at risk for retention issues. Mr. Dugstad also informed the board that vape detectors have been installed in the school and are working well. Superintendent Jeff Burgess added that the detectors are beneficial and administrators from other schools are requesting information on how the vapor detectors are working at Clearbrook-Gonvick.
Superintendent Jeff Burgess provided a summary of the financial reports. Revenues are up due to a one-time payment from JLM and $43,000 in Impact Aid. Increased revenue for special education has come from increased special education transportation revenue. This change in income is offset by increased special education transportation expenses. Burgess added that student numbers, a major determinant of school revenues, have increased slightly.
Burgess also reported that the district has purchased and received a ten-passenger van. The transportation committee approved the purchase of the one-year-old vehicle with 6,000 miles. The technology committee will meet to view bids received for the technology updates needed and bring their recommendations to the board. Burgess expects the updates to the technology infrastructure including servers and switches will cost in the range of $150,000-$200,000. The current technology that will be replaced is outdated and no longer supportable.
The district is waiting for word on the life skills program grant, according to Burgess. He expects to know in February whether the district has been placed in a group that will receive a social-emotional curriculum for the junior high students.
Four individuals expressed interest in filling the vacant seat on the board. Members voted to select Dudley Wishard for the position. He will hold the seat until December, following the November elections. Because there is a 30-day waiting period to be officially seated on the board, Wishard may attend the February meeting but will not be able to vote until the March meeting. The board members expressed great appreciation for the interest shown in the school board position, and encouraged those who are interested to pursue future openings. Filing for election to school board opens in August and Paula Boomgaarden, Business Manager for the school district, should be contacted to start this process.
The board also approved the hiring of Joe Skjaret as the technology support specialist for the district, currently a part-time position. Skjaret has eight years of experience as an Air Force Technology Specialist and he has worked as a substitute in the district prior to being hired.
Board members were reminded that the February meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 19th due to the President’s Day holiday. They were also reminded to turn in superintendent evaluation surveys.
Payments made by the district in the past month include $72,135.46 to Stein’s Bus Service, $8,270.29 to Clearwater-Polk Electric, $8,079.80 to Community Oil Co., $4,702.50 to Thompson’s Sand and Gravel, $4,092.75 and $2,319.05 to Marco, $2,195.86 to Anderson Disposal, $1,923.34 to Garden Valley Telephone Company, and $1,869.06 to City of Clearbrook, and $1,127.36 to Land O’Lakes.