The Crookston School Board met on Tuesday evening and approved a new activities platform, a European trip, and several personnel items, including resignations, contract agreements, donations, and more.
NEW ACTIVITIES PLATFORM
The school board approved a new activities platform named Bound at a cost of $3,374.5, which will replace the current system for scheduling and communication and will even allow paying admission and concessions by card.
Crookston School District Activities Director Evan Pederson said the new system offers more to activity directors, coaches, parents, and fans. The program will provide scheduling, program management, and give real-time updates and notifications to coaches, athletes, and parents. “It’s a website that includes pretty much everything involved with athletics and activities, transportation, funding, registration,” said Pederson. “The best part is the app that it offers for families. They get live updates whenever there’s a game change or there’s a time change. They are being notified right away. So that’s probably the benefit for our families that have kids and kids and activities.”
The Bound program also offers digital ticket sales and event management. “They offer digital ticketing, which we could use for admission into games. We would still offer cash,” said Pederson. “People use their cards, they swipe, and they’re in. And that would be an option that they could use debit or credit at a concession stand as well, too.”
2028 EUROPE TRIP APPROVED
The board approved a student trip to Europe in 2028. Teachers Shelly Thomforde and Sue Wagner are the co-group leaders for the trip, and they will depart on June 12, 2028, and return on June 22, 2028. The cost of the trip is $5,539, with several opportunities for the students to fundraise to help alleviate the cost.
The trip is through Educational Tours, and they will visit the Alps and the Mediterranean coast. “It will go from Switzerland to Italy, to Cinque Terre, to Monaco, the French Riviera, and then finish up in Madrid. So it’ll be a lot of fun things for the kids to see,” said co-leader Sue Wagner. “It’s an opportunity we’re providing for kids. It’s not a school field trip or anything like that. It’s just an opportunity we want to give kids if they choose to, you know, maybe go see a part of the world that they might not get to see in any other way. So, when I went, it was a lot of fun, and just seeing it through the kids’ eyes was amazing.”
Wagner said the students going on the trip will be this year’s 9th- and 10th-graders. There will be a parent information meeting on Wednesday, May 6, at 6:00 p.m. at Crookston High School. All freshman and sophomore students and parents should have received an informational email about the trip on Wednesday (April 29).
Wagner said it is a great opportunity for the kids. “We encourage kids if they’re interested, they get about a two-year span to make payments so they can pay it over two years, and I really hope that kids can come out,” said Wagner. “This summer we have a group of 60 that are doing the Europe trip this summer to France and Germany.”
OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
The board approved a service agreement with Jill Carlson, a Licensed School Psychologist. They approved a Music Listening Team program. The Music Listening program is a Minnesota State High School League-sponsored event with a state contest in the winter. Students study composers, history, and specific music selections and are judged on their knowledge of pieces from each year’s list. Crookston School District Orchestra Instructor Lori Carlson said it is like Knowledge Bowl for musicians.
CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda had two additions with the hiring of Elizabeth Rose as a head cook at Highland School and the resignation of Molly Cordes as a third-grade teacher.
Other consent agenda items approved were the retirements of Anita Brekken as head cook at Highland, Wanda Proulx as assistant cook at Highland, and Mark Ecklund as kitchen helper at the high school. The board approved the resignation of Theresa Brule-Haggerty as a kitchen helper at the high school, Malissa Burnette as a paraprofessional at Washington School, Donald Braam as a paraprofessional at Highland School, Davin Rose as a Chemistry teacher, Katelynn Nordine as a paraprofessional at the high school, and Manny Green as a band instructor.
The board approved a status change for Malissa Burnette from paraprofessional to ADSIS Behavior Interventionist Instructional Assistant, and they approved employment agreements with Donovan Edlund as Transportation Assistant, Dave Emanuel as Indian Ed Coordinator, Lacia Hanson as Success Coach, Joseph Hyde as Information Technology Specialist, Richard Niemela as Transportation Services/Building and Grounds Director, Emily Scheresky as Food Services Director, and Keven Weber as Computer/Technology Technician.
The board accepted $13,633.22 in donations with $5,000 from Farm Credit Services for the greenhouse project, $2,587.45 from the Crookston Masonic Lodge and another $2,587.45 from the Minnesota Masonic Charities for the sixth grade field trip to Itasca State Park, $1,800 from the Crookston Baseball Association for the Pirate Softball program, $758.32 from the Crookston Baseball Association for the Pirate Baseball program, $500 from the Eldred Farmer’s Elevator for the FFA program, and $400 from Old National Bank for student scholarships.
The next Crookston School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26 at 5:00 p.m. in the Crookston High School choir/orchestra room.
