The Crookston Community Education Advisory Board met for the first time in the 2026-27 school year on Tuesday in the district office at Crookston High School.
The meeting was led by Interim Superintendent Todd Selk, who is serving as the interim Community Education Director following Brandon Neibauer-Adams’s resignation from the district back in July. Selk appointed Highland Elementary School co-principal Dave Kuehn as the chair of the advisory board, and the two of them will work with board members to coordinate events and programs throughout the year. The district has not moved forward with the search for a new community development director, but they hope to begin the process in early 2027. “I’m in this role only because of a late resignation of the former community education director, and just not having an opportunity to fill that. That was a position that was held with someone that was also a teacher in our district, and so it’s not a standalone position per se, and we just have not really moved forward with trying to recruit somebody to fill that community education role with everything else that’s been going on to start the school year.”
Selk heard introductions from the members in attendance, representing groups such as Early Childhood and Family Education (ECFE), LEO Club, Golden Link Senior Center, Crookston Community Theatre, and the PATCH after-school homework help program. Some of the information provided to the board during reports was 159 sign-ins for the PATCH program through its first 34 days of the school year, successful events for ECFE and the Builders Club, and upcoming events like the Crookston Community Theatre’s fall production of “Four Old Broads”, as well as 18 students attending adult education classes through the Northwest Services Coop. Selk was encouraged to hear the positive updates in the reports and feels there is enough going on at the moment to maintain current projects and classes before adding any new ones. “I do appreciate everyone that was able to attend today and share about what’s going on. The good news for our community is that there are a lot of things going on, and there’s a lot of people doing a lot of good things on behalf of the community and on behalf of kids, but also on behalf of adults. I was happy today to learn about those different people that provide services for our community, and look forward to continuing to work with them, and also hopefully bring some new ideas and some new opportunities to the community as well.”
The board discussed topics from the previous board meeting in May, including a suggestion to conduct a survey to gauge the community’s interest in current classes and programs, as well as any ideas they have that could become new classes for adults and kids. Selk believes that a survey would be an excellent way to help gather information and develop goals for the community education department moving forward, especially when a new permanent director is brought in. “One of the things that was brought up was the possibility of a survey of our community to find out really what they’re looking for through a community education department and community education programming. That is certainly something we can do. We probably would do that sometime after the first of the year, and really then gather that data and that information, and really try to, as we go about hiring for this position on a more permanent basis, sharing that information with the new director as potential programming for future years.”
The Community Education Advisory Board meets four times per school year, and the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 19, 2027.
