On Monday night, the Crookston School Board met inside the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda included accepting resignations from Crookston High School head cook Christine Erdmann, Crookston High School kitchen helper Cassandra Torkelson, Special Services Administrative Assistant Jodi Clauson, Junior High Football Coach Don Edlund, and Washington Elementary Paraprofessional Shelly Pahlen. The Consent Agenda also included approving the employment of Scott Johnson as a bus driver and Sandy Seregin as a Paraprofessional.
The last item on the Consent Agenda was approving the employment of Nathan Lubarski as the new Activities Director at Crookston High School. The School District held a wide search, and after narrowing it down to four candidates, Crookston Public Schools Superintendent Jeremy Olson said Lubarski was an excellent choice. “With any interview process, there are a lot of great candidates to choose from,” said Superintendent Olson. “He was the unanimous choice for various reasons, and with how many great candidates we had, I think that says a lot about him, and we’re excited for him to join the team.”
The board approved all Consent Agenda items unanimously. Lubarski will take over for Greg Garmen, who is retiring at the end of the school year, and assume the position with an official start date of July 1. However, Olson noted he has already begun working closely with Garmen for a smooth transition. Lubarski will also remain the High School’s head football coach.
MAIN AGENDA
The Main Agenda began with approving an Achievement and Integration Program Application. The funds will be used for success coaches and intervention coaches at the 7th and 8th-grade levels, and they will model and mirror what is already in place at the kindergarten through 6th-grade levels. The board approved the application unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was approving the purchase of Safe Schools Zone signage for Fisher Avenue. Superintendent Olson explained the reasoning behind the decision. “We are looking at this because we want people to slow down,” said Superintendent Olson. “There are signs in place right now, but the problem is that no one knows when the times are and when they should be driving the school zone speed limit. So that’s what we need to communicate with the public, and we need signs that flash to inform the public when the school zone speed limit is in place.”
The board approved the purchase of the Safe Schools Zone signage unanimously, and the total cost for the school will be $8,000. Superintendent Olson also explained the School District is grateful for the support of Polk County and the Crookston Police Department in helping pay for the project. The earliest the signs will be in place is in September of 2022.
Following that, the board then approved a building lease between the School District and an All 4 Learning Childcare Center that will be at Washington Elementary School. “We know this is a big impact on our community, and it can affect economic development and our workforce,” said Superintendent Olson. “We finally have green lights across the board, and we are looking at April to open and have this as a real option. This has been a long process, and this was one step moving us closer to where we want to be.”
The board approved the lease unanimously. The board then approved a proposed trip to Europe in June of 2024. The trip is open to this year’s 9th and 10th graders who are willing to raise the money over the next two years to attend. Social Studies teacher Shelly Thomforde explained the purpose of the trip. “The benefit of traveling is giving kids and students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Thomforde. “Some of these kids never leave Minnesota, so they will experience once in a lifetime things and see some of the places we talk about in class and still get to learn while traveling.”
The board approved Mrs. Thomforde to move forward with the trip, and the students will begin the fundraising efforts. The two locations planned for the trip are Italy and Switzerland, and each student will need to raise $4,485 to attend.
The next item on the agenda was the second reading of policy updates for the School District. The Policy Committee met in February to review the School District’s policies. They made slight adjustments to a few of them after some discussion and recommendation by the Minnesota School Boards Association. The board approved the policy updates unanimously.
The meeting continued forward with the board approving the certified Certificate of Compliance presented by the American Indian Parent Action Committee. American Indian Liaison for the Crookston School District Dave Emanual explained to the board that the Committee was pleased with the compliance and direction Crookston Public Schools is heading, and the School Board approved the Certificate of Compliance Unanimously.
The last item on the Main Agenda was the approval of the revised Academic Calendar for the 2022-2023 school year. The one notable revision to the Academic Calendar is no 2W days will be built into the schedule for next year. However, religious education away from school and transportation for events will still be provided throughout the school year. Other students who choose not to participate will have full instruction days, and two extra staff development days will also be added throughout the year. This will gain instructional time for students instead of having half instructional and half-staff development days. The board promptly approved the Academic Calendar unanimously.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
The board also heard Administrative Reports from Washington School Principal Denice Oliver, Crookston High School Principal Nicki Martinez, and Crookston Public Schools Superintendent Jeremy Olson.
Denice Oliver’s report highlighted after-school reading programs and early childhood screening. Nicki Martinez’s report was also short but included the congratulation of Nathan Lubarski as the new Activities Director. And Superintendent Olson’s report also highlighted after-school reading programs at the younger levels of learning throughout the School District while also briefly informing the board a special School Board meeting may need to be held in early April to approve new hirings so they can be factored into next year’s budget. Highland Elementary Principal Chris Trostad was not in attendance and left the School Board a packet with his report.
The next scheduled School Board meeting will take place on April 26, at 5:00 p.m., inside the High School Choir/Orchestra room.
