The Crookston School Board met in the Crookston High School choir/orchestra room on Monday night. The meeting was the final meeting for 2019 and opened with a Truth in Taxation Hearing, which was followed by the regular meeting.
Truth in Taxation hearing –
The Crookston School District Truth in Taxation hearing didn’t have anybody from the public in attendance to comment, so they moved on to the discussion of the numbers. Crookston School District Business Manager, Laura Lyczewski, said the tax bill would be an increase of 2.2 percent after the public voted to approve the bus garage. The Crookston School District levy will see an increase in the general fund due to the loss of the swimming pool, and they will see a total addition of $69,274.67 over last year, and the levy will be $3,158,530. The board unanimously approved the levy. “The overall net impact is a 2.2 percent increase in taxation based on the passage of the referendum,” said Superintendent Olson. “That was passed by the board, and that is what we will move forward for next year.”
79 percent of the Crookston School District revenue comes from the state. 11.9 percent of the revenue comes from local taxpayers, while 4.6 percent comes from Federal funding, and 4.5 percent is other local revenue.
The four largest expenditure for the district is 48.6 percent to teachers, 19.6 percent to Special Education teachers, 9.9 percent to buildings, 6.7 percent to administration.
Future of the current bus garage building–
Superintendent Olson submitted a proposal on what they might want to do with the three bus garage buildings.
1. Brick building – Look for a new owner for the brick portion of the building
2. The wood portion of the garage – Tear down the building
3. Metal building with gas pumps – Keep the building and use it for storage and keep the gas pumps until they figure out what they are going to do with them.
“I wanted to start a discussion with the school board in which I am recommending to work with the city or any other entity to secure responsible ownership of the brick building. I believe it can serve some possibilities still,” said Olson. “The white stick frame building is to tear it down based on estimates. The steel frame building and fuel station we should keep and use it as storage.”
Board member Mike Theis requested that they get a quote on tearing down the wood portion of the building. Board chair Frank Fee said the Hutterites from North Dakota have come to town to tear down buildings for the lumber, and that might be a possibility too.
The question was asked if anybody had an interest in the brick building, and Olson said nobody has contacted him.
Johnson Controls Contract –
Olson said they are working on renewing a contract (currently $60,000 a year), and they are talking with a local contractor for a price on filters and other items to see what they can do. “We are working through it and reaching out to a local contractor and Johnson Controls to try to figure out the best way forward is,” said Olson. “We are trying to figure out what makes the most sense for the district moving forward.”
Social Media Company –
Superintendent Olson is currently working with Social Media for Education on a contract for social media services (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) that will range anywhere from $4,000 to $9,000. Olson said he doesn’t want to get locked into a long contract to start. “The school board is very supportive of this, and we want to do something that makes sense, so we are looking at a one year contract,” said Olson. “We feel this is part of our strategic plan, talking about communicating in an excellent way with social media, and a lot of people are getting information through social media. We want a little outside help, and they provide it.”
New Bus Garage meeting –
Transportation Director Rick Niemela and Superintendent Olson will meet with ICON, the new bus garage architects, later this week. “We will make sure our bid specs are what we want to see. We want to make sure they are right because people will be bidding based on them,” said Olson. “Overall, the footprint is very similar to what we originally presented. Now we are putting the detailed level like where outlets will go and other things like that in the packet.”
English Teacher quits, Davidson fills in-
Crookston High School English teacher, Renae Myszkowski, quit without any notice a couple of weeks ago. Crookston High School Principal Eric Bubna thanked school board member and retired teacher, Dave Davidson, for stepping in and taking over the teaching duties while they look for a new teacher.
The next Crookston School Board meeting will be on Monday, January 6, at 7:00 a.m. for a Special Reorganization meeting to elect the board officers and assign members to committees.
The next regular School Board meeting will be held on Monday, January 27, at 5:00 p.m.
