The Crookston School Board met Monday evening at the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room and approved the School Resource Officer Contract and a strength and conditioning contract with Sanford and Dan Rooney. The meeting was also the final board meeting for Chair Frank Fee, who has served for 16 years, and Dave Davidson, who has served for 12 years.
SANFORD PERFORMANCE/DAN ROONEY CONTRACT
The board approved a strength and conditioning agreement with Sanford Performance/Dan Rooney. The contract money comes from private donations from school district residents/businesses. Dan Rooney will continue to be in the weight room from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. and from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. It continues for the rest of the year and is a one-year contract. Rooney will also oversee the weight room in the summer months. “Dan Rooney was doing it for us while he was a teacher here and decided to move on to Sanford, and it is one thing we tried to keep around,” said Crookston High School Activities Director Nate Lubarski. “He works with our teams. He started in the fall and continues in the winter, but honestly, he has done a great job with our youth.”
Lubarski added that because of Rooney, the weight room is open longer hours, which has been important. “Being able to keep it open until 6:00 or 6:30 at night and all kids have access to it and it has become a destination place for kids and a few years ago they would walk by almost afraid to go in, and now that has completely changed and we are excited for it,” said Lubarski. “You can have all the equipment in the world, but if you don’t teach them how to use it properly and Dan is well versed in everything. We are fortunate to have a strength and conditioning program.”
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER CONTRACT APPROVED WITH THE CITY OF CROOKSTON
The board unanimously approved the School Resource Officer agreement through 2027 with the City of Crookston. The School District will pay half of Officer Cody Bannert’s salary and benefits. The contract for 2024 is for $104,460. In 2025 it will be for $112,588.09. In 2026, it will be $121,673.28. In 2027, it will be for $129,804.07. “We were able to put a plan in place for the next three years. The SRO agreement from before expired in June of 2024, and we are actually going to split the costs with the city,” said Superintendent Randy Bergquist. “We will have our SRO starting on December 12 and will continue to work every single day at the high school, Highland, and Washington, and we are excited to work with Mr. Cody Bannert.”
To see a previous KROX article on Officer Cody Bannert being introduced to the school board, click on the following link – Crookston School District needs more subs and has a new SRO | KROX.
HIGHLAND SCHOOL PRINCIPAL CHRIS TROSTAD LEAVE OF ABSENCE
The board approved a 12-week leave of absence for Highland School Principal Chris Trostad and is currently looking for somebody with a principal’s licensure to fill in for 12 weeks starting January 2, 2025. “We want somebody there full-time to deal with any kind of issues that come up,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “We will be advertising that, and hopefully, we will get some candidates to come in and say they would like to do that.”
BOARD APPROVES FINAL 2023-24 AUDIT AND WORLD’S BEST WORKFORCE SUMMARY
The Board approved the Final 2023-24 audit, and the World’s Best Workforce summary report was also approved. To read more about the 2023-24 audit, click on the following link from the last meeting – Crookston School Board approves a 3-year Johnson Controls contract extension, a Native American compliance letter, and a change to PSEO credits | KROX
CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda included approving the November 25 minutes and current bills and accepting Emma Mekkes’s resignation as a paraprofessional at Highland Elementary School. The board also approved the employment of Joe Hyde as an Information Technology Specialist and Rebecca Schmidt as a Special Education Teacher.
TRUTH IN TAXATION HEARING
The Crookston School District Truth in Taxation Hearing started at 6:00 p.m., and no one from the public was in attendance to express any concerns.
The next Crookston School Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 6, at 5:00 p.m. in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room.
Frank Fee and Dave Davidson after their last school board meeting
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