The Crookston School Board held its regular meeting on Monday night in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room.
FFA PRESENTATION
The meeting started with a presentation from FFA students. There are currently 235 kids in FFA, with 40 active members in Crookston. There are currently 15 Crookston students going to the state competition, with four more contests upcoming before state on April 23, 24, and 25.
2023-24 DISTRICT ACADEMIC CALENDAR
The board unanimously approved the 2023-24 District Academic Calendar. There will be 171 student days and 183 teacher days. There will be one minor change in the calendar. “When you look at school districts, you can’t start until Labor Day, and everyone likes to get done around Memorial Day, so when you try to fit 183 days of staff days, there isn’t a lot of change that can happen,” said Superintendent Dave Kuehn. “One thing we added was the first day of school, which is September 5, will be a student day for grades 6-12, and pre-K through fifth grade will be another meet the teacher day, with the first day on Wednesday, September 6. We felt it wasn’t enough time for the kids and teachers to meet, so it was a recommendation we added. Otherwise, it is pretty much identical to this year.” The calendar is below.
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7TH AND 8TH GRADE TRIP TO WASHINGTON D.C.
Crookston High School teacher Sue Wagner came to the board with a request for a junior high student trip to Washington D.C. in the Summer of 2024. The event wouldn’t be school-sponsored, would be completely student-funded. “The middle school team and I started talking about this, and we know other schools in the area have taken groups of kids to Washington D.C. and thought it would be a good opportunity for the middle school age as we switch into a middle school format,” said Wagner. “When we look at the sample itinerary, what they would show us in four days time would be unbelievable, and we would see the highlights and maybe wet their appetite for going back out there someday.”
The students that could go on the trip would be the current sixth graders, the current seventh graders, and possibly the current eighth graders. “There has been nothing official yet, and have kind of had discussions in class with the kids,” said Wagner. “In the next several weeks, the parents will get something they can look into, then there will be an online meeting for all the interested kids and their parents.” The cost of the trip would be around $2,400, with the travel company offering an 18-month payment plan. The cost would include airfare, hotels (4 and 5-star hotels), admission, and food. The only money kids would have to bring is spending money for anything extra they wanted. Wagner said they are hoping to have at least 30 kids.
MID-YEAR SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION
School Board Chair Frank Fee reported on the mid-year superintendent evaluation and said the survey of all school board members came back very favorable to Superintendent Dave Kuehn. “It was outstanding,” said Fee. “He received top ratings across the board. He had high marks in communication, and high marks in district finances. As most people know, we lucked into Dave coming here, and the school board members unanimously gave him the highest marks he could get.”
Fee added that one school board member stated Kuehn is the best superintendent the district has had since 1973.
RESOLUTION TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO PROGRAMS AND STAFF –
The board unanimously approved the resolution directing the administration to make recommendations for reductions in programs and positions, something that is done by all school districts every year. “It is done by every district in January,” said Superintendent Kuehn. “As you start to prepare for the next school year with budgets and what you are going to be doing, everybody passes the resolution and it gives you some flexibility. We don’t know the funding we are going to get yet, so it allows us to make decisions as funding plays out.”
JOHNSON CONTROLS CONTRACT EXTENDED
The board unanimously approved a two-year maintenance contract with Johnson Controls from February 1, 2023, to January 31, 2025, at the cost of $64,377. The plan includes the filters for the HVAC system. Kuehn said Johnson Controls knows the system well and maintains them, and they have been doing it for many years.
WINTER STORM DAY MAKEUP DATES –
The board unanimously approved makeup snow days only if the five built-in storm days are used. If a sixth storm day was needed, the makeup day would be the Monday after Easter, April 10, 2023. If a seventh storm day was needed, the makeup day would be March 20, 2023, which is currently a teacher workshop day. If an eighth storm day was needed, the makeup day would be June 2, 2023, which is currently scheduled as a teacher workshop day.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda was approved and included accepting the resignation letters of Paraprofessionals Jennifer Erdmann, Marissa Arriaga, and Maria Hammer.
A letter of assignment with Dave Emanuel, and the employment of Crookston High School Custodian Mavis Braaten, Highland Paraprofessional Savannah Plante, Washington Instructional Assistant Carole Chaput, and part-time Bus Driver Cody Brekken.
The board also approved the increased employment hours with High School Paraprofessional/ISS Aide Lori Melbye and Lane Advance Requests.
DONATIONS
The board accepted an anonymous donation of $1,200 applied toward student lunch debt, a $500 donation from the United Way of Crookston for the CHS PATCH Program, an $820 donation from the June Shaver endowment for the Drama Department, and a $2,740 donation from the June Shaver endowment for Healthcare Scholarships.
The next School Board meeting will take place on Monday, February 27, at 5:00 p.m. at the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra Room.
