Bid day for the school project is scheduled for Thursday, June 27th

The Clearbrook-Gonvick school board held its regular meeting on Monday, June 17th. Items on the agenda included staffing, building, extracurricular fund accounting, and the 2019-2020 budget.

Staffing was addressed by both Principal Carl Dugstad and Superintendent Jeff Burgess. Mr. Dugstad reported that interviews for the high school English teaching position are scheduled for Friday, June 21st, with two applicants currently under consideration. Mr. Burgess is anticipating word on the ADSIS approval. If adding to staff is approved, advertising will begin for the K-3 math interventionist position. BRIC has begun advertising for the DCD position, as no applications for the position were received by the district. In addition, the board approved the hiring of Danielle Derby as cook. Ms. Derby has been a substitute cook for the district.

An update on the new addition was one of the building issues reported on by Mr. Burgess. Ken Anderson, project manager, has resigned from his position with ICS Consulting. Justin Maaninga, a senior project manager with ICS, is taking over management of the Clearbrook-Gonvick project. Both Anderson and Maaninga have continued to communicate with each other and with school administration during this transfer of responsibility. Bid day for the project is scheduled for Thursday, June 27th.  A plan was made to paint an accent wall in three classrooms at a cost of $240 per room for labor, paint, and supplies.  Paint colors chosen will match those that will be used in the new addition. According to Mr. Burgess, staff is in the process of cleaning the garage to provide a more organized storage area for the school.

Two issues arising from state legislation were addressed by the board. The state’s new budget bill requires reauthorization of board approved referendum authority. Jeff Burgess stated that this will make no difference in taxes or money received for the district. While the reauthorization is allowed for up to five years, the board chose to reauthorize for one year at this time, allowing time to study and discuss the issue, and possibly increase the time increment next year.

New state legislation also requires that the school board take control of all extracurricular activity funds. Separate accounts will no longer be allowed for each activity. Instead, activity funds will appear as one balance in the financial statements. Students will still have input as to how their specific activity fund is used and each fund will continue to be accounted for separately. Currently, the board receives a beginning and ending balance for each activity fund every month. The new system will provide the board with detailed information on sources of money and expenditures. This new policy will allow the funds to be monitored more closely by the board and audited more thoroughly.

The board approved the 2019-2020 budget. The major focus of financial planning will be keeping expenses within budget. Licensed instruction and repairs were over budget in the previous budget year. Fluctuations in student numbers add to the difficulties of creating an accurate budget plan.

The board also approved insurance bids for 2019-2020. Most insurance stayed approximately the same, but workers’ compensation insurance will increase by $17,000 for next year, due to claims from the district. This amount may decrease in the future if the district doesn’t have more claims. 

Consent calendar items including bills, electronic transfers, and the treasurer’s report were presented to and approved by the board. Payments made include $37,673.65 to Stein’s Bus Service, LLC, $8,852.93 to Community Oil Co., $6,754.66 to Marco, $1,192.60 to Land O’Lakes, and $1,122.38 to BRIC.