Clearbrook-Gonvick School board April 20
Clearbrook-Gonvick School board April 20
The Clearbrook-Gonvick School board met in regular session on Monday, April 20. The minutes of the March 16 meeting were approved.
The last item on the agenda was the resolution of the board to issue General Obligation Facilities Maintenance Bonds. Their attorney has put together the amount which was not to exceed $4,000,000. The figure for the bond would go into the 10-year facilities plan. The priority would be the roofing and the maintenance projects that have been proposed. The district has $1,510,000 that needs to be paid. The combined total amount would be $5,510,000. The board approved the resolution.
Mr. Bettin gave his Spotlight on Education. The students have been busy this past month. There has been an emphasis on Math and Reading in various classes which he showed with his video presentation. 53 students from the STEM class attended the Science Center in Bemidji. The prom was held with Mrs. Ek and Larson in charge. Bettin was also selected as Student Council Advisor of the year at the convention in Owatonna. Three students were also honored for their work on the student council. They included Ava Larson, Sarah Imle and Joley Olson-Hinrichs.
Principal’s report by Josh Tharaldson with the MCA Testing entering the 2nd week. They should have that wrapped up by May 1.
The State FFA Competition had several students who qualified for the state on April 20 and 21. Advisor Mrs. Johnson took the students down. General Livestock included Ava Larson, Peyton Berg, Erick Larson, Ellyse Berg and Dylan Larson (Alternate). Farm Business Management included Sarah Imle, Natasha Chandler, Joely Hinrichs-Olson, Alexa Anderson and Kenda Klein (Alternate). Overall Alternate was Amelia Machlitt.
Friday, April 24 Mrs. Dahl was taking 5th grade students to the Math Masters competition. They included Porter Long, Elsa Larson, Talia Nelson, Lydia Baird and Sienna Branch.
There are many events going through the end of the year. The high school music concert will be held at 6:30 pm on Tuesday May 5th. The elementary music concert will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday May 7th. May 13th is Senior Baccalaureate at 5:00 p.m. followed by the Senior scholarship program and banquet at 6:00 p.m. May 20th is Kindergarten graduation at 1:00 p.m. May 22 is the last day of school with dismiss at 12:30 p.m. May 23 is High School Graduation at 2:00 p.m.
Superintendent report by Ryan Grow with a need for part time cook and girls’ basketball coach. Stellar Human Services will be interviewing for the Human Services position. He was looking for volunteers from the board to help hand out diplomas for the seniors.
There is not much going on in the legislature for education. He is very concerned about compensatory revenue for the district. That is the state funding for school districts based on the number of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Minnesota voters may decide on a constitutional amendment in November 2026 to change how the $2.3 billion Permanent School Fund (PSF) is managed. The proposal aims to shift distribution from solely interest/dividends to a 4.5% payout based on a three-year rolling average to increase revenue for schools.
They are doing a revised budget for next year. Grow gave the proposed budget estimated amount was $12,576,292 and $12,358,152 for expenditures. The net revenue would be $146,419.75. That will be brought up again at the next meeting. They will have a work session with Superior Transportation Services as they would like to continue the service. They are also interested in purchasing the school district owned buses.
They received the Cyber Grant in the amount of $40,000 to cover some of the cost of the technological hardware that needed to be replaced.
Kloster Park might be dry enough to have a baseball game.
Enrollment is up 1 student to 499.
Consent Calendar - They approved the bills to be paid in the amount of $704,972.42 for non-payroll and $316,944.51 for payroll for a total of $1,021,916.93. Some bills included Superior Transportation Services Inc. $108,271.03; BRIC $14,919.17; Clearwater -Polk Electric $11,285.84; Lidstrom’s Disposal $6,038.04; Garden Valley $7,148.01; Thompson’s Sand and Gravel $4,272.50; City of Clearbrook $3,458.52; Clearwater County Treasurer $2,962.50; Dick’s Plumbing & Heating of Bemidji $1,916.96; Bessler Electric $1,692.27; Farmers Publishing $1,175.97.
Donations were made to class of 2027 $502.00; Student Council $2,325.00; High school Music $50.00; The Trap Club $6,009.00.
New Business
The board accepted the retirement of Pamela Bagaason effective May 22, 2026. She has taught in the district for the past 30 years. She left the classroom last few years and has been the K-3 Math Interventionist.
The board accepted the retirement of Darlene Bergmans as the Paraprofessional Special Education Teacher after 31 years in the district.
The board accepted hiring Derrick Adams as Custodian at Step 8 for $19.13 starting March 30; They hired Phillip Johnson as Custodian at step 8 for $19.13 per hour starting April 27. They also hired Jill Neustel as School Counselor at the Master step of $56,700. She has been the long-term sub in the district this past year.
They approved tenure to four teachers after three years in the district. They included Erica Erickson, Abigail Ek, Tate Maesse and Jared Sewall. Two teachers were approved tenure after one year in the district. They had previous tenure in another district before coming to Clearbrook-Gonvick. They include Julie Aas in Vocal Music and Doug Liebl the Arts Instructor.
The board did not approve the renewal of Debbie Olson contract for 5th grade teacher for next year.
They approved the overnight trip for FFA as the two teams qualified for state competition.
School calendar was approved with many changes from the past years. School would be starting on September first, a week before Labor Day. Graduation would not be on Memorial Day weekend as in the past but May 22, 2027. The last day of school for grades 1 to 11 would be May 26. Christmas vacation would be from December 23 through January 1
They approved the second reading of the MSBA Model Policy 625 which has to do with AI.
The next board meeting will be May 18th at 7:00 p.m.